IMAGE  EVALUATION 
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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHIVI/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


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Couverture  ondommag^e 


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The 
posf 
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begi 
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othe 
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V~\    Showthrough/ 


Transparence 

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10X                            14X                             18X                            22X 

26X 

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y 

1 

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24X 

28X 

32X 

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1  2  3 


L'exemplaire  f ilm6  fut  reproduit  grflce  d  la 
g^ntrositA  de: 

Bibliothdque  Morisiet 
Univertitt  d'Ottawa 


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conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 

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pramlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustretion  et  en  torminant  par 
la  derniire  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaftra  sur  la 
derniire  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  —►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE  ".  le 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN". 

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filmds  A  des  taux  de  rMuction  diff6rents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clich6.  11  est  film6  d  partir 
de  i'angle  sup6rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite. 
et  de  haut  en  bas.  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  n6cessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mithode. 


32X 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

IMPRESSIONS  OF 
SOUTH  AFRICA 


IMPRESSIONS  OF 
SOUTH  AFRICA 


BY 

JAMES   BRYC'E 

ArXHOR  OF   "THK  AMERICAN   COMMONWKALTH,'   "TRANSCArCASIA 
AND  AHAKAT,"   'TUE  HOLY  KOilAN    EMPIRE " 


THIRD  EDITION 

WITH   A  NEW   PREFATORY   CHAPTER, 

AND  WITH  THE  TRANHVAAL  CONVENTIONS 

OF   1881    AND   1884 


NEW  YORK 

THE  CENTURY  CO 

1900 


CopyriKlit,  1897, 1900, 
By  The  Century  Co. 


l<joO 


The  DeVinne  Press. 


TO 
THE  COMPANION  OF  MY  TRAVELS 


PREFACE 


AS  I  have  explained  in  tlie  introdnetory  chapter  the 
^  seope  and  plan  of  this  volume,  I  need  do  no  more 
here  than  acknowledge  the  assistance  which  T  have;  derived 
in  th(?  historical  part  of  it  from  the  treatises  of  Mr.  Theal, 
a  dili«;ent  and  careful  writer  who  has  done  much  for  the 
annals  of  his  adcfvted  country.  I  have  also  been  aided  by 
the  intercstinjij  lectures  on  the  emifjjrant  Boers  in  Natal  of 
the  late  Mr.  Cloete,  and  have  found  valuable  sufj^^estions 
in  the  judicious  and  lucid  "  Historical  Geojj^rajdiy  of  the 
British  Colonies''  (vol.  iv.)  of  Mr.  ('.  P.  Lucas.  No  spe- 
cial  reference  seems  needed  to  the  other  books  I  hav<'  (;on- 
sulted,  excej)t  to  Mr.  Noble's  very  well  executed  "  Official 
Handbook  of  the  Caj)e  and  South  Africa." 

I  luive  to  thank  Sir  Donald  Currie  and  the  Castle  Mail 
Packets  Company  for  the  permission  kindly  ^iven  me  to 
use  the  maj)s  in  the  excellent  "  Guide  to  South  Africa," 
published  by  them,  in  the  preparation  of  the  three  maps 
contained  in  this  volume ;  and  I  trust  that  these  maps  will 
be  helpful  to  the  reader,  because  a  comprehension  of  the 
physical  peojyraphy  of  the  country  is  essential  to  a  com- 
prehension of  its  history. 

The  friends  in  South  Africa  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for 
many  of  th(»  facts  I  have  stated  and  views  I  have  expressed 


Vll 


viii 


I'HKKACK 


iiH'  too  imin('r(»us  tf)  inciition;  l>ut  I  caimot  dcnv  nivsclf 
tijc  plcasiin'  of  I'rturniii}^:  tlianks  for  the  p'nijil  lios|»itality 
and  iiiifailiuj,'  kiiiUiu'«8  wliicli  1  receivc'il  in  ovm'  i)ai't  of 
tlu!  ('ouiitry. 

As  I  liavc!  bt'i'ii  oblij^od  to  cornM't  tln'  proofs  of  tliis  book 
at  a  tlistaiicc  from  all  books  of  rt-fcrciKM',  I  a.*;k  iii(liil<j:('U<'e 
for  any  minor  errors  whicdi  may  be  diseovered  in  it. 

Jami;s  bnvcE. 
Beveki.v  Farms,  Massa<"tiusktT8, 
S('i)tt'iubi'r  i:{,  1«'J7. 


NOTE  TO   THE   SKCOXI)    EDITION 


Some  few  correetions  liavc^  l)een  made  in  the  text  of 
this  edition,  and  there  has  been  prefixed  to  it  a  list  of  the 
areas  and  i»opnlations  of  the  several  Colonies.  K'ejiultlics, 
and  Territories  in  Sontli  Africa.  to^'<'ther  with  a  table  of 
dates  of  some  im})ortant  events  in  Sonth  African  history. 

Jamiury  19,  18U8. 


PREFATORY  CHAPTER 


N 


TO  THE  THIRD   EDITION 

WHEX  tlie  first  edition  of  this  lujok  was  pul.lisliod 
(at  the  end  of  1S!)7)  there  was  strong  reason  to  l)c- 
lieve  as  well  as  to  hope  that  a  race  conflict  in  Sonth  Africa 
wonld  be  avoided,  and  that  the  ])olitical  problems  it  pre- 
sents, acute  as  they  had  become  early  in  ISiJfi,  would  be 
s<)1v«m1  in  a  peaceable  way.  To  this  l>elief  and  hoi)e  I  j^mvc 
expressi(m  in  the  concluding,'  chapter  of  the  book,  indical- 
inj,'  "tact,  coolness,  and  patience— above  all,  patience.''  as 
the  (lualities  needed  to  attain  that  result  whi(di  all  friends 
of  the  country  must  unite  in  desiring. 

Now,  however  (October,  1891)).  Britain  and  her  South 
Afri(!an  Colonies  and  territories  find  themselves  at  war 
with  the  South  African  Republic  and  the  Orange  Free 
State.  A  new  chapter  is  opened  in  the  historv  of  the 
country,  which  completely  alters  the  situation,  and  must 
necessarily  leave  things  very  different  from  what  it  found 
them.  Readers  of  this  new  edition  may  reasona})ly  expect 
to  find  in  it  some  account  of  the  events  which  have  within 
the  last  two  years  led  up  to  this  catastrophe,  or  at  anv 
rate  some  estimate  of  that  conduct  of  affairs  by  the  three 
governments  concerned  wliich  has  brought  about  a  result 
all  three  ought  to  have  sought  to  avert. 

ix 


P14EFAT(^KY  CHAPTER 


There  are,  however,  coiiehisive  reasons  against  attempt- 
ing to  eontinue  down  to  tlie  outbreak  of  the  war  (October 
11)  the  liistorical  sketch  given  in  Chapters  II  to  XII. 
Tlie  materials  for  the  liistorian  are  still  scantv  and  im- 
])erfeet,  leaving  him  with  data  scarcely  suflrtcient  for 
judging  the  intention  and  motives  with  which  some 
things  were  done.  Round  the  acts  and  words  of  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  three  governments  concerned,  there 
riiges  such  a  storm  of  controversy  that  whoever  jdaces  a 
jtariicular  ccmstruction  upon  those  acts  and  words  nnist 
needs  support  his  construction  by  citations  from  docu- 
ments, and  arguments  based  on  those  citations.  To  do 
this  would  need  a  space  nuich  larger  than  I  can  command. 
The  most  serious  dilMculty,  }u>wever,  is  that  when  events 
jire  close  to  us  and  excite  strong  feelings,  men  distrust 
the  impartiality  of  a  historian  even  when  he  does  his  best 
to  be  impartial.  I  shall  not,  therefore,  attempt  to  write 
a  historv  of  the  last  two  fateful  vears,  l)ut  content  mvself, 
tirst,  with  calling  the  reader's  attention  to  a  few  salient 
facts  that  have  occurred  since  1896,  and  to  some  aspects 
of  the  case  which  hnvebeen  liiile  considered  in  England; 
{ind,  secondly,  with  describing  as  clearly  and  estimating 
as  cautiously  as  I  can  the  forces  that  have  worked  dur- 
ing those  years  with  such  swift  and  deadly  effect. 

Some  of  these  facts  may  be  dismissed  with  a  word  or 
two,  because  they  lie  outside  the  present  crisis.  One  is 
the  entrance  of  the  Colony  of  Natal  into  the  South  Afri- 
can Customs  Union,  an  event  which  created  one  uniform 
tariff  svstem  for  the  whole  of  British  and  Dutch  South 
Africa  except  the  Transvaal.  Another  is  the  extension 
of  tlie  two  great  lines  of  railway  from  the  coast  into  the 
interior.  This  extension  has  given  Bulawayo  and  ^lata- 
bililand  a  swift  and  easy  communication  with  Cape  Town, 


PKEFATOKV   CKAi'TEK 


xl 


thereby  strengthening  immensely  tlie  hold  of  Britain  upon 
the  interior,  and  lessening  any  risk  that  might  be  feared 
of  future  native  risings.  It  lias  also  opened  up  a  new 
and  (luick  route  from  the  eoast  of  the  Indian  Ocean  at 
Beira  into  the  heart  of  Mashonaland,  and  brought  the 
construction  of  a  railway  from  Mashonaland  across  the 
Zambesi  to  Lake  Tangrnyika  within  the  horizon  of  ])rac- 
tieable  enterprises.  A  scheme  of  government  has  been 
settled  for  the  territories  of  the  British  South  Africa 
Company  south  of  the  Zambesi  (Southern  Hhodesia), 
which  is  now  at  work.  The  prospects  of  gold-mining  in 
that  region  are  believed  to  have  imi)roved,  and  the  in- 
crease of  gold-production  in  the  mines  of  the  Wit  waters- 
rand  has  proved  even  more  rapid  than  was  expected  in 
1890.  An  agreement  has  been  concluded  between  Britain 
and  the  Gernum  Empire  relating  to  their  interests  on  the 
coast  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  whicli,  though  its  terms  have 
not  been  disclosed,  is  generally  understood  to  have  re- 
moved an  obstacle  which  might  have  been  feared  to  the 
acquisition  by  Britain  of  such  rights  at  Delagoa  Bay  as 
she  may  be  able  to  obtain  from  Portugal,  and  to  have 
withdrawn  from  the  South  African  liepublic  any  hope 
that  State  might  have  cherished  of  support  from  Germany 
in  the  event  of  a  breach  with  Britain. 

These  events,  however,  great  as  is  their  bearing  on  the 
future,  are  of  less  present  moment  than  those  which  have 
sj)rung  from  Dr.  Jameson's  expedition  into  the  Transvaal 
in  December,  1895,  and  the  internal  troubles  in  that  State 
which  caused  and  accompanied  his  enterprise.  It  re- 
kindled race  feeling  all  over  South  Africa,  and  has  had 
the  most  disastrous  effects  upon  every  part  of  the  country. 
To  understand  these  effects  it  is  necessary  to  understand 
the  state  of  opinion  in  the  British  Colonies  and  in  the  two 


Xll 


I'KEFATORY   CIIAI'TEK 


Republics  before  it  took  place.  Let  us  examine  these 
coniiiiunities  separately. 

Ill  Cape  Colony  aud  Natal  there  was  before  December, 
189"),  no  hostility  at  all  between  the  British  and  the 
Dutch  elements.  Political  parties  in  Cape  Colony  were, 
in  a  broad  sense,  British  and  Dutch,  but  the  distinction 
was  really  based  not  so  much  on  racial  differences  as  on 
economic  interests.  The  rural  element,  which  desired  a 
])rotective  tariff  and  laws  regulating  native  labor,  was 
mainly  Dutch,  the  commercial  element  almost  wholly 
Fritish.  Mr.  Rhodes,  the  embodiment  of  British  Imi)e- 
rialism,  was  Prime  Minister  through  the  support  of  the 
Dutch  element  and  the  Africander  Bond.  Englishmen 
and  Dutchmen  were  everywhere  in  the  best  social  rela- 
tions. The  old  blood  symj)athy  of  the  Dutch  element  for 
the  Transvaal  Boers,  which  had  been  so  strongly  mani- 
fested in  1881,  when  the  latter  were  struggling  for  their 
independence,  had  been  superseded,  or  at  least  thrown 
into  the  background,  by  displeasure  at  the  unneighborly 
policy  of  the  Transvaal  Government  in  refusing  public 
employment  to  Cape  Dutchmen  as  well  as  to  English- 
men, and  in  throwing  obstacles  in  the  way  of  trade  in 
agricultural  products.  This  displeasure  culminated  when 
the  Transvaal  Government,  in  the  summer  of  1895,  closed 
the  drifts  (fords)  on  the  Vaal  River,  to  the  detriment  of 
imports  from  the  Colony  and  the  Orange  Free  State. 

In  the  Orange  Free  State  there  was,  as  has  been  pointed 
out  in  Chapter  XIX,  perfect  good  feeling  ind  cordial  co- 
operation ?•  ill  public  matters  between  the  Dutch  and  the 
English  elements.  There  was  also  perfect  friendliness  to 
Britain,  the  old  grievances  of  the  Diamond  Fields  dispute 
(see  page  148)  and  of  the  arrest  of  the  Free  State  con- 
quest of   Basutoland   having   been   virtually  forgotten. 


i^ 


PREFATORY  CHAPTER 


xiU 


Toward  the  Transvaal  tliere  was  a  political  syinpatliy 
l)as('d  partly  on  kinship,  partly  on  a  similarity  of  ropub- 
liean  institutions.  But  there  was  also  some  annoyance 
at  the  policy  which  the  Transvafil  Government,  and  es- 
l)ecially  their  Hollander  advisers,  were  pursuing',  coupled 
with  a  desire  to  see  reforms  elTected  in  the  Transvaal,  and 
the  franchise  granted  to  innnigrants  on  more  liberal 
terms. 

Of  the  Transvaal  itself  I  need  sav  the  less,  l)ecause  its 
condition  is  fully  described  in  Chapter  XXV.  There  was 
of  course  much  irritation  among  the  Uitlanders  of  Eng- 
lish and  Colonial  stock,  with  an  arrogant  refusal  on  the 
part  of  the  ruling  section  and  the  more  extreme  old-fash- 
ioned Boers  to  admit  the  claims  of  these  newcomers. 
But  there  was  also  a  party  among  the  burghers,  impor- 
tant more  by  the  character  and  ability  of  its  members  than 
by  its  numbers,  yet  growing  in  influence,  wliich  desired 
reform,  perceived  that  the  existing  slate  of  things  could 
not  continue,  and  was  ready  to  join  the  Uitlanders  in 
agitating  for  sweeping  changes  in  the  Constitution  and 
in  administration. 

The  events  of  December,  1895,  changed  the  face  of 
things  swiftly  and  decisively  in  all  these  communities. 

In  Cape  Colony  Dutch  feeling,  which  as  a  political  for'  e 
was  almost  expiring,  revived  at  once.  The  unexpected 
attack  on  the  Transvaal  evolved  an  outburst  of  sympathy 
for  it,  in  which  the  faults  of  its  government  werci  for- 
gotten. Mr.  Rhodes  retired  from  office.  The  recon- 
structed Ministry  which  succeeded  fell  in  1898,  and  a  new 
^Ministry  supported  by  the  Africander  Bond  canve  into 
power  after  a  general  election.  Its  majority  was  narrow, 
and  was  accused  of  not  fairly  representing  the  (country, 
owing  to  the  nature  of  the  electoral  areas.     A  Redistri- 


XIV 


PKEFATOKV   CHAPTER 


\\ 


bution  Bill  was  passed  by  a  species  of  compromise,  and 
in  the  elections  l)y  the  new  constituencies  which  followed 
the  Dutch  party  slightly  increased  its  majority,  and  kept 
its  Cabinet  (in  which,  however,  men  of  Dutch  blood  are  a 
minority)  in  power.  Party  feeling,  both  inside  and  out- 
side the  legislature,  became,  and  has  remained,  extremely 
strong  on  bath  sides.  The  Knglish  generally  have  rallied 
to  and  acclaim  Mr.  Rhodes,  whose  connection  with  Dr. 
Jameson's  expedition  has  made  him  the  special  object  of 
Dutch  hostility.  There  is,  according  to  the  reports  which 
reach  England,  no  longer  any  moderating  third  party : 
all  are  violent  partizans.  Nevertheless— and  this  is  a  re- 
markable and  most  encouraging  fact— this  violence  did 
not  diminish  the  warmth  with  which  the  whole  Assemblv 
testified  its  loyalty  and  affection  toward  the  Queen  on 
the  occasion  of  the  completion  of  the  sixtieth  year  of  her 
reign  in  1897.  And  the  Bond  Ministry  of  Mr.  Schreiner 
proposed  and  carried  by  a  unanimous  vote  a  grant  of 
£30,000  per  annum  as  a  contribution  by  the  Colony  to 
the  naval  defense  of  the  Empire,  leaving  the  application 
of  this  sum  to  the  unfettered  discretion  of  the  British 
Admiralty. 

In  the  Oi-ange  Free  State  the  explosion  of  Dutch  senti 
ment  was  still  stronger.  Its  first  result  was  seen  in  the 
election  of  a  President.  In  November,  1895,  two  candi- 
dates for  the  vacant  office  had  come  forward,  and  their 
chances  were  deemed  to  be  nearly  equal.  When  the  news 
of  the  Jameson  expedition  was  received,  the  chance  of  the 
candidate  of  British  stock  vanished.  Since  then,  though 
there  was  not  (so  far  as  I  gather)  down  till  the  last  few 
weeks  any  indication  of  hostility  to  Britt*in,  much  less  any 
social  friction  within  the  State,  a  disposition  to  draw 
closer  to  the  threatened  sister  Republic  showed  itself  at 


( 


PREFATORY  CHAPTER 


XV 


se,  and 
)llowed 
id  kept 
(d  are  a 
nd  out- 
breiiiely 
1  rallied 
ith  Dr. 
bject  of 
s  which 
party : 
is  a  re- 
nce  did 
sseinblv 
leeii  oil 
r  of  her 
ihreiner 
^raiit  of 
)loiiy  to 
(lication 
British 

h  seiiti 
a  in  the 
candi- 
id  their 
he  news 
!e  of  the 
though 
last  few 
less  any 
;o  draw 
itself  at 


once.  This  led  to  the  conclusion  of  a  defensive  alliance 
between  the  Free  State  and  the  Transvaal,  whereby  either 
bound  itself  to  defend  the  other,  if  unjustly  attacked. 
(The  Transvaal  is  believed  to  have  suggested,  and  the 
Free  State  to  have  refused,  a  still  closer  union.)  As  the 
Orange  Free  State  had  no  reason  to  fear  an  attack,  just 
or  unjust,  from  any  quarter,  this  was  a  voluntary  under- 
taking on  its  part,  with  no  corresponding  advantage,  of 
what  might  prove  a  dangerous  liability,  and  it  furnishes 
a  signal  proof  of  the  love  of  independence  which  ani- 
mates this  little  community. 

We  come  now  to  the  Transvaal  itself.  In  that  State 
the  burgher  party  of  constitutional  reform  was  at  once 
silenced,  and  its  prospect  of  usefulness  blighted.  So,  too, 
the  Uitlander  agitation  was  extinguished.  The  Reform 
leaders  were  in  prison  or  in  exile.  The  passionate  anti- 
English  feeling,  and  the  dogged  refusal  to  consider  re- 
forms, which  had  characterized  the  extreme  party  among 
the  Boers,  were  intensified.  The  influence  of  President 
Kruger,  more  than  once  threatened  in  the  years  immedi- 
ately preceding,  was  immensely  strengthened. 

The  President  and  his  advisers  had  a  golden  opportu- 
nity before  them  of  using  the  credit  and  power  which  the 
failure  of  the  Rising  and  the  Expedition  of  1895  had 
given  them.  They  ought  to  have  seen  that  magnanimity 
would  also  be  wisdom.  They  ought  to  have  set  about  a 
reform  of  the  administration  and  to  have  proposed  a 
moderate  enlargement  of  the  franchise  such  as  would 
have  admitted  enough  of  the  new  settlers  to  give  them  a 
voice,  yet  not  enough  to  involve  any  sudden  transfer  of 
legislative  or  executive  power.  Whether  the  sentiment 
of  the  Boers  generally  would  have  enabled  the  President 
to  extend  the  franchise  may  be  doubtful ;  but  he  could  ut 

li 


XVI 


PKEPATOKY   CHAPTER 


any  rate  have  tried  to  deal  with  the  more  flagrant  abuses 
of  administration.  However,  he  attenii)ted  neither.  Tlie 
abuses  renuiined,  and  though  a  Commission  reported  on 
some  of  them,  and  suggested  important  reforms,  no  aetion 
was  taken.  Tlie  weak  point  of  the  Constitution  (as  to 
wliieh  see  page  15G)  was  the  power  wliieh  the  legislatuie 
apparently  possessed  of  interfering  with  vested  rigiits,  and 
even  with  i)ending  suits,  by  a  resolution  iuiving  tlie  foree 
of  law.  This  was  a  defeet  due,  not  to  any  desire  to  do 
wrong,  but  to  the  inexperienee  of  those  who  had  origi- 
nally framed  the  Constitution,  and  to  the  want  of  legal 
knowledge  and  skill  among  those  who  had  worked  it,  and 
was  aggravated  by  the  fa(!t  that  the  legislature  consisted 
of  one  Chamber  only,  which  was  naturally  led  to  legis- 
late by  way  of  resolution  {heshdf),  because  the  jn'ocess  of 
passing  laws  in  the  stricter  sense  of  the  term  involved  a 
tedious  and  cumbrous  process  of  bringing  them  to  the 
knv>wledge  of  the  people  throughout  the  country.  Upon 
this  point  there  arose  a  disjmte  with  the  Chief  Justice 
which  led  to  the  dismissal  of  that  official  and  one  of  his 
colleagues,  a  dispute  which  could  not  be  explained  here 
without  entering  upon  technical  details.  There  is  no 
reason  to  think  that  the  President's  action  was  prompted 
by  any  wish  to  give  the  legislature  the  means  of  wrong- 
ing individuals,  nor  has  evidence  been  produced  to  show 
that  its  powers  have  been  in  fact  (at  least  to  any  material 
extent)  so  iised.  The  matter  cannot  be  fairly  judged 
without  considering  the  peculiar  character  of  the  Trans- 
vaal Constitution,  for  which  the  President  is  nowise  to 
blame ;  and  the  statements  often  made  in  England  that 
the  subjection  of  the  judiciary  to  the  legislature  destroys 
the  security  of  property  are  much  exaggerated,  for  prop- 
erty has  been,  in  fact,  secure.     It  was,  nevertheless,  an 


PKEFATUKY   CIIAl'TEU 


AVll 


error  uot  to  try  to  retain  u  iiuiii  so  iiiueli  reisj)eete(l  as  the 
Chief  Justice,  and  uot  to  fullil  the  i)roniise  y;iveu  to  ISir 
lleury  de  Villiers  (who  Imd  been  invoked  as  mediator) 
that  the  judiciary  should  be  phiced  in  a  more  assured 
position. 

The  idea  whicli  seems  to  have  filled  the  President's 
mind  was  that  force  was  the  onlv  remedv.  Tlie  Hepub- 
lie  was,  he  thoujjfht,  sure  to  be  ajiain  attacked  from 
witliin  or  from  without;  and  the  essential  thinj^  was  to 
strengthen  its  military  resources  for  defense,  wliile  retain- 
ing political  power  in  the  hands  of  the  burghers.  Ac- 
cordingly, the  fortifications  already  begun  at  Pretoria 
were  i)ushed  on,  a  strong  foi't  was  erected  to  connnand 
Johannesburg,  and  munitions  of  war  were  imi)orted  in 
very  large  quantities,  while  the  ritlanders  were  debarred 
from  })ossessing  arms.  Sudi  i)recautions  were  natural. 
Any  government  which  had  been  nearly  overthrown 
and  expected  another  attack  would  have  done  the  like. 
But  these  measures  of  course  incensed  the  Uitlanders, 
who  saw  that  another  insurrection  would  have  less  chance 
of  success  than  the  last,  nd  resented  the  inferiority  im- 
p'ied  in  disarmament,  as  Israel  resented  the  similar  })oliey 
pursued  by  the  Philistine  princes.  The  cai»italists  also, 
an  important  factor  by  their  wealth  and  by  their  power 
of  influencing  opinion  in  Europe,  were  angry  and  rest- 
less, because  the  prospect  of  securing  reforms  whidi 
would  reduce  the  cost  of  working  the  gold-reefs  became 
more  rem  ite. 

Tills  wis  the  condition  of  things  in  the  two  Republics 
and  the  British  Colonies  when  the  diplomatic  controversy 
between  the  Imperial  Government  and  the  South  African 
Republic,  which  had  been  going  on  ever  since  1895, 
passed  in  the  early  summer  of  1899  into  a  more  acute 


XVI  u 


PKEFATOiiY   CHArTEK 


pliase.  The  begiuning  of  that  phase  coincided,  as  it  so 
happened,  with  tlie  expiry  of  the  period  during  which  the 
leaders  of  the  Johannesburg  rising  of  189")  had  promised 
to  abstain  from  interference  in  politics,  and  the  incident 
out  of  which  it  grew  was  the  presentation  to  the  Queen 
(in  March,  1899),  through  the  High  Commissioner,  of  a 
petition  from  a  large  number  of  British  residents  on  the 
Witwatersrand  complaining  of  the  jmsition  in  which  they 
found  themselves.  The  situation  soon  became  one  of 
great  tension,  owing  to  the  growing  passion  of  the  Eng- 
lish in  South  Africa  and  the  growing  suspicion  on  the 
part  of  the  Transvaal  Boers,  But  before  we  speak  of 
the  negotiations,  let  us  consider  for  a  moment  what  was 
tlic  position  of  the  two  parties  to  the  controversy. 

The  position  of  the  Transvaal  Government,  although 
(as  will  presently  ai)pear)  it  had  some  measure  of  legal 
strength,  was,  if  regarded  from  the  point  of  view  of  ac- 
tual facts,  logically  indefensible  and  materially  danger- 
ous. It  was  not,  indeed,  the  fault  of  that  (jovernment 
that  the  richest  gold-field  in  the  world  had  been  discov- 
ered in  its  territory,  nor  would  it  have  been  possible  for 
the  Boers,  whatever  they  might  have  wished,  to  prevent 
the  mines  from  being  worked  and  the  miners  from 
streaming  in.  But  the  course  they  took  was  condemned 
from  the  first  to  failui'c.  They  desired  to  have  the  bene- 
fit of  the  gold-mines  while  yet  retaining  their  old  ways 
of  life,  not  seeing  that  the  two  things  were  incompatible. 
Moreover,  they— or  rather  the  President  and  his  advisers 
—committed  the  fatal  mistake  of  trying  to  maintain  a 
government  which  was  at  the  same  time  undemocratic 
and  incompetent.  If  it  had  been  representative  of  the 
whole  mass  of  the  inhabitants  it  might  have  ventured, 
like  the  governments  of  some  great  American  cities,  to 


PHEFATOKY   f'llAr'TER 


XIX 


disregard  both  purity  and  otfk'iouey.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  liad  been  a  vij^orous  and  skilful  government, 
giving  to  the  inhabitants  the  eoniforts  and  conveniences 
of  municipal  and  industrial  life  at  a  reasonable  charge, 
the  narrow  electoral  basis  on  which  it  rested  would  have 
remained  little  more  than  a  theoretic  grievance,  and  the 
bulk  of  the  peoi)le  woidd  have  cared  nothing  for  political 
rights.  An  exclusive  government  may  be  pardoned  if  it 
is  eflficieut,  an  inefficient  government  if  it  rests  uj)on  the 
]>cople.  Bu  a  government  whicli  is  both  inefticicnt  and 
exclusive  incurs  a  weight  of  odium  under  which  it  must 
ultimately  sink ;  and  this  was  the  kind  of  government 
wliich  the  Transvaal  attempted  to  maintain.  They  ought, 
therefore,  to  have  either  extended  tlieir  franchise  or  re- 
formed their  administration.  They  would  not  do  the 
former,  lest  the  new  burghers  should  swamp  the  old  ones, 
and  take  the  control  out  of  Boer  hands.  Tliey  were  unfit 
to  do  the  latter,  becau.se  Ihey  had  neither  knowledge  nor 
skill,  so  that  even  had  piivate  interests  n()t  stood  in  the 
way,  they  would  have  failed  to  create  a  proper  adminis- 
tration. It  was  the  ignor.ance  as  well  as  the  exclusive 
spirit  of  the  Transvaal  authorities  which  made  them  un- 
willing to  yield  any  more  than  they  might  be  forced  to 
yield  to  the  demand  for  reform. 

The  position  in  which  Britain  stood  needs  to  be  exam- 
ined from  two  sides— its  legal  right  of  interference,  and 
the  practical  considerations  which  justified  interference 
in  this  particular  case. 

Her  legal  right  rested  on  three  grounds.  The  first  was 
the  Convention  of  1884  (printed  in  the  Appendix  to  this 
volume),  which  entitled  her  to  complain  of  any  infraction 
of  the  privileges  thereby  guaranteed  to  her  subjects. 

The  second  was  the  ordinary  right,  which  every  State 


XX 


riCKl'ATOUV  CHAI'TKU 


I)oss(».ss«'S,  to  conijilain  and  (if  necessary)  interveiH*  whvu 
its  sultjfM'ts  are  wroiij^ed,  and  ('sj)e('ially  when  tlh'V  sntl'rr 
any  disabilities  not  imposed  upon  tlie  subjects  of  otlier 
States. 

TIm'  third  rij^dit  was  more  alt  to  forninlat<'.     It 

rested  on  the  fact  that  as  Hritaui  was  the  ^'reatest  i)ower 
in  South  Africa,  owninj,'  the  whole  country  souili  of  the 
Zainl)esi  except  the  two  Dutch  KN-pulilies  (for  the  deserts 
of  (Jerinan  Danuiralaiid  and  the  J'ortufjnese  East  Coast 
territories  nuiy  be  jn-actically  left  tut  of  account),  she 
was  interested  in  i)reventin<,'  any  causes  of  disturl)ance 
within  the  Transvaal  whicli  mi^lit  spread  l»eyond  its 
l)ordei's  and  ])econie  sources  of  trouble  either  ainoii^'  na- 
tives or  amon^  white  men.  This  ri^lit  was  of  a  vaj;ue 
and  indeterminate  nature,  and  could  ))e  legitimately  used 
only  when  it  was  plain  that  the  sources  of  trouble  did 
really  exist  and  were  beeoming  dangerous. 

Was  there  not  also,  it  may  be  asked,  the  suzerainty  of 
Britain,  and  if  so,  did  it  not  justify  intervention  ?  I  will 
not  discuss  the  question,  mnch  debated  by  English  law- 
yers, whether  the  suzerainty  over  the  "  Transvaal  State," 
mentioned  in  the  i)reamble  to  the  Convention  (►f  1881. 
was  preserved  over  the  "  South  African  Republic  "  by  the 
Convention  of  1884,  not  because  I  have  been  unable  to 
reach  a  conclusion  on  the  subject,  but  because  the  point 
seems  to  be  one  of  no  practical  importance.  Assuming, 
for  the  sake  of  argument,  that  there  is  a  suzerainty,  it  is 
perfectly  clear  from  an  examination  of  the  Conventions 
and  of  the  negotiations  of  1884  that  this  suzerainty  relates 
solely  to  foreign  relations,  and  has  nothing  whatever  to 
do  with  the  internal  constitution  or  government  of  the 
Transvaal.  The  significance  of  the  term— if  it  be  carried 
over  and  read  into  the  Convention  of  1884— is  exhausted 


I'KKI'ATOUV   CHAITKU 


xxl 


it  is 
:ions 
Hates 

ir  to 
the 
Irried 

isted 


by  the  provision  in  Ai-ticlc  IV  of  that  instniniont  for  llio 
sultinissiyn  of  treaties  to  tlie  Hritisli  (lovernnient .  No 
urjjjunient,  a<M'or(lin*rly,  for  any  ri^lit  of  interference,  as 
re<;ar(ls«'itlier  the  political  arranjjfeinents  of  the  Transviinl 
or  the  treatment  of  forei«,niers  within  its  borders,  can  be 
fonn(le<l  on  this  real  or  snppttsed  snzerainty.  This  view 
had  l)oen  too  fre(|nently  and  too  clearly  expressed  l»y  the 
British  (lovernnient  before  ISDG  to  nuike  it  possible  for 
any  Hritish  oHuMal  to  attempt  to  put  any  such  construc- 
tion ui>on  the  term  ;  and  the  nuitter  nnt,dit  theref(»re  have 
been  sutt'ered  to  drop,  since  the  ri^lii  lO  veto  treaties  was 
♦'Xplicit,  and  did  not  need  to  l)e  sui»ported  by  an  Mppeal 
to  the  preamble  of  IHSI.  The  term,  however,  though 
useless  to  Uritain,  wjts  ji-allin*;  to  the  Transvaal,  which 
suspe(!ted  that  it  would  be  made  a  pretext  for  infrinp'- 
nu!nts  upon  its  indeiu'nch'nce  in  internal  affairs;  and 
these  suspicions  were  confirmed  by  the  talk  of  the  I'it- 
hinder  si)okesmen  in  Johannesburir,  who  were  in  the 
habit  of  iip{>ealinii^  to  Britain  ,s  the  Suzerain  Power. 
It  has  i)layed  a  most  unfortunate  part  in  the  whole 
controversv. 

Suzerainty,  which  is  a  purely  legal,  though  somewhat 
vague,  conception,  has  in  many  minds  become  confused 
with  the  practical  supremacy,  or  rather  predominance,  of 
Britain  in  South  Africa,  which  is  a  totally  different  mat- 
ter.  That  predominance  rests  on  the  fact  that  Britain 
commands  the  resources  of  a  great  empire,  while  the 
Dutch  Republics  are  petty  communities  of  ranchmen. 
But  it  does  not  carry  any  legal  rights  of  interfenmce,  any 
more  than  a  preponderance  of  force  gives  Germany  rights 
against  Holland. 

As  I  have  referred  to  the  Convention  of  1S84,  it  mav 
be  well  to  observe  that  while  continuing  to  believe  that. 


XXII 


I'KKKATOKV   rllAITKH 


I 


w 


on  a  review  of  tlie  fa<'ts  as  they  then  stood,  the  Britisli 
Govcrnnu'iit  wen-  jiistifit'd  in  restoring'  sclt'-^'ovcrnnicnt 
to  tlu'  Transvaal  in  IHSI,  they  seem  to  nie  to  liavc  erred 
in  coiu'cdin^'  tho  Convention  of  1HH4.  Tliouyh  the  Kand 
goUl-lields  liad  not  then  hoen  discovered,  Lord  l)er)>y 
onglit  to  have  seen  tluit  the  rehitious  of  tlie  Transvaal  to 
the  adjoining'  British  territories  would  be  so  close  that  a 
certain  measure  of  British  control  over  its  internal  ad- 
ministration mijj^ht  come  to  be  n«'cdful.  This  control, 
which  was  indeed  but  slijjht,  he  surrendered  in  1H84. 
But  the  improvidence  of  the  act  d.)es  not  in  the  h-ast 
diminish  the  dutv  of  the  c(mntrv  which  nuide  the  Conven- 
tion  to  abide  by  its  teruis,  or  relieves  it  from  the  obliga- 
tion of  making  out  for  any  subspfjuent  interference  a 
basis  of  law  and  fact  which  tlie  opinion  of  the  world 
might  accej)t  as  sufl[i(ri«'nt. 

It  has  not  been  sutticiently  realized  in  England  ihat  al- 
though the  Transvaal  may  proj)erly,  in  respect  of  British 
control  over  its  foi'cign  relations,  be  desci'ibed  as  a  semi- 
dependent  State,  Britain  was  under  the  same  obligation 
to  treat  it  witli  a  strict  regard  to  the  recognized  princii)les 
of  international  law  as  if  it  had  been  a  great  Power.  She 
had  made  treaties  with  it,  and  those  treaties  it  was  her 
duty  to  observe.  Apart  from  all  moral  or  sentimental 
considerations,  apart  from  the  fat^t  that  Britain  had  at 
the  Hague  Conference  been  the  warm  and  effective  ad- 
vocate of  peaceful  methods  of  settling  disputes  between 
nations,  it  is  her  truest  interest  to  set  an  example  of  fair- 
ness, legality,  and  sincerity.  No  country,  not  even  the 
greatest,  can  afford  to  neglect  that  reasonable  and  en- 
lightv^ned  opinion  of  thoughtful  men  in  other  countries— 
not  t»>  be  confounded  with  the  invective  and  misrepre- 
sentation employed  by  the  press  of  each  nation  against 


I'UKI'ATiUiV    CMAI'TKU 


XXIII 


the  othors  — '.vliich  «l<'t«TinirH's  tin- ulfimjit«' judgment  «>f 
tlu'  worM,  uikI  passrs  into  tlir  vt-rdict  of  historv. 

I)id  then  tln'  ^M-icvaiicfs  of  wliirli  tlio  liritisli  residents 
in  till'  Transviial  complained  funiisli  sucli  a  basis  ?  These 
griesances  are  well  known,  and  will  lie  fonnd  mentioned 
in  ('liai»ter  XXV.  They  were  real  and  vexations.  It  la 
true  that  s<)me  of  tliem  affected  not  .so  much  liritish  resi- 
dents as  the  Kuropeain  shaieholders  in  the  ^rreat  mininj^ 
companies;  true  also  that  tlu-  mining'  industry  (as  will  be 
seen  from  the  ti^nireson  pa^iilTJ)  was  expanding  and  pros- 
pering; in  spite  of  them.  Furthermore,  they  were  ^riev- 
an<'es  uu<)('r  which,  it  mi^ht  lie  ar^'ued,  the  immi<;riints 
had  phuM'd  themselves  by  cominj;  with  notice  of  their  ex- 
istence, and  from  wiiich  they  mi«;ht  escape  l>y  tnkin*;  a 
train  into  tlie  Free  State  or  Natal.  And  they  were  ^griev- 
ances which.  lH>w«'ver  annoying',  did  not  render  either 
life  or  property  unsafe,*  and  did  not  prev«'nt  the  'lohan- 
nesburp'rs  from  enjoying  life  and  actpiirin^  wealth. 
Nevertheless,  thev  were  such  as  the  Hritish  (lovernment 
were  entitled  to  endeavor  to  .have  redressed.  Nor  could 
it  )>e  denied  that  the  state  of  irritation  and  unrest  which 
prevailed  on  the  Witwatersrand,  the  itrol)ability  that  an- 
otlier  risinjj  would  take  place  whenever  a  elumce  of  suc- 
cess offered,  furnished  to  Britain,  interested  as  she  was 
in  the  general  peax'e  of  the  country,  a  ground  for  (inn 
remonstrance  and  for  urging  the  removal  of  all  legitimate 
sources  of  disaffection,  especially  as  these  reacted  on  the 
whole  of  South  Africa.     The  British  authorities  at  the 


'  Whatever  may  be  thought  as  to  the  inuch-oontroverted  Edgar 
ease,  the  fact  that  such  special  stress  has  been  laid  on  it,  and  that 
f«'\v,  if  any,  other  cases  have  been  instanced  in  which  crimes  against 
I'itlanders  went  unpunished,  goes  to  show  that  life  was  exposed  only 
to  those  dangers  which  th'-eaten  it  in  all  new  mining  communities. 


I' 


!    It 


I  i 


i  1'^ 


ii     !t 


;  I        f. 


XXIV 


PREF^ATOKY   CHAPTER 


Cape  seem  indeed  to  have  tliouglit  that  the  unyielding  at- 
titude of  the  Transvaal  Government  worked  mueli  mis- 
chit,' f  in  the  Coh)nv,  beinj'  taken  bv  the  EnirHsli  there  as 
a  defiantfe  to  tlie  power  and  infhienee  of  Britain,  and  so 
embittering  their  minds. 

Among  tlie  grievances  most  in  men's  mouths  was  tlie 
exclusion  of  the  newcomers  from  the  electoral  frant.'hise. 
It  must  be  clearly  distinguished  from  the  other  grie\- 
ances.  It  was  a  i)urely  internal  affair,  in  which  Britain 
had  no  right  to  intermeddle,  either  under  the  Convention 
of  1884  or  under  the  general  right  of  a  State  to  protect  its 
subjects.  Nothing  is  clearer  than  that  every  State  may 
extend  or  limit  the  suffrage  as  it  pleases.  If  a  British 
self-governing  colony  were  to  restrict  the  suffrage  to 
those  who  had  lived  fourteen  years  in  the  colony,  or  a 
State  of  the  American  Union  were  to  do  the  like,  neither 
the  Home  Government  in  the  one  case,  nor  the  Federal 
Government  in  the  other,  would  have  any  right  to  inter- 
fere. All  therefore  that  Br  tain  could  do  was  to  call  the 
attention  of  the  South  African  Republic  in  a  friendly  way 
to  the  harm  which  the  restriction  of  the  franchise  was 
causing,  and  point  out  that  to  enlarge  it  might  remove 
the  risk  of  a  collision  over  other  matters  which  did  fall 
within  the  scope  of  British  intervention. 

We  are  therefore,  on  a  review  of  the  whole  position,  led 
to  conclude  that  Britain  was  justified  in  requiring  the 
Transvaal  Government  to  redress  the  grievances  (other 
than  the  liniited  suffrage)  which  were  complained  of. 
Whetiier  she  would  be  justified  in  proceeding  to  enforce 
by  arms  compliance  with  her  demand  would  of  course  de- 
pend upon  several  things— upon  the  extent  to  which  the 
existence  of  the  grievances  could  be  disproved,  upon 
the  spirit  in  which  the  Transvaal  met  the  demand,  upon 


PKEFATOKV  ClIAi'TEK 


XXV 


the  amount  of  concessions  offered  or  amendment  prom- 
ised. But  before  the  British  Governnieut  entered  on  a 
course  whicn  might  end  in  war,  if  the  Transvaal  slioukl 
jirove  intractable,  there  were  some  c<'nsiderations  which 
they  were  bound  seriously  to  weigh. 

One  of  these  was  the  time  for  entering  on  a  contro- 
versy. The  Jameson  invasion  was  only  three  ye.-irs  old, 
and  the  pas.sions  it  evoked  had  not  suljsided.  In  it  Brit- 
ish officers,  and  troops  flying  the  British  flag,  if  not  Brit- 
ain herself,  had  been  wrong-doers.  Suspicions  of  British 
good  faith  were  known  to  pervade  the  Boer  mind,  and 
would  iz'ive  an  ominous  color  to  everv  demand  coming 
from  Britain.  The  lapse  of  time  might  diminish  these 
suspicions,  and  give  to  negotiations  a  better  pros})ect  of 
success.  Time,  moreover,  was  likely  to  work  against  tiie 
existing  svstem  of  the  Transvaal.  Bad  governments 
carry  the  seeds  of  their  own  dissolution.  The  reforminir 
party  among  the  Transvaal  burghers  would  gain  strength 
and  try  to  throw  off  the  existing  reo-inie.  The  President 
was  an  old  man,  whose  retirement  from  power  could  not 
be  long  delayed ;  and  no  successor  would  be  able  to  hold 
together  as  he  had  done  the  party  of  resistance  to  reform. 
In  the  strife  of  factions  that  would  follow  his  retirement, 
reform  was  certain  to  have  q,  far  better  chance  than  it 
could  have  had  since  1895.  In  fact,  to  put  it  shortly,  all 
the  natural  forces  were  working  for  the  Uitlanders,  and 
would  either  open  the  way  for  tlnnr  admission  to  a  share 
in  power,  or  else  make  the  task  of  Britain  easier  by  giving 
her  less  united  and  therefore  less  formidable  antagonists. 
These  considerations  counseled  a  postponement  of  the 
attempt  to  bring  matters  to  a  crisis. 

In  the  second  })lace,  the  British  Government  had  to  re- 
member the  importance  of  carrying  the  opinion  of  the 


XXVI 


PREFATOKY  CHAPTER 


.1 


i!  I 


Dutch  in  Cape  Colony,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  even  of  the 
Orange  Free  State,  with  them  in  any  action  they  might 
take.  It  has  been  pointed  out  how  before  December,  1895, 
that  opinion  blamed  the  Transvaal  Government  for  their 
nnt'riendly  treatment  of  the  immigrants.  The  Dutch  of 
both  communities  had  nothing  to  gain  and  something  to 
lose  by  the  maladministration  of  the  Transvaal,  so  that 
they  were  nowise  disposed  to  support  it  in  refusing  re- 
forms. The  onlv  thing  that  would  make  them  rallv  to  it 
would  be  a  menace  to  its  independence,  regarding  which 
they,  and  especially  the  Free  State  people,  were  extremely 
sensitive.  Plainly,  therefore,  unless  the  Colonial  Dutch 
were  to  be  incensed  and  the  Free  State  men  turned  to 
enemies,  such  a  menace  was  to  be  avoided. 

Finally,  the  British  authorities  were  bound  to  make 
sure,  not  only  that  they  had  an  adequate  casus  belli  which 
they  could  present  to  their  own  people  and  to  the  world, 
but  also  that  the  gain  to  be  expected  from  immediately 
redressing  the  grievances  of  the  Uitlanders  outweighed  the 
permanent  evils  war  would  entail.  Even  where,  accord- 
ing to  tlie  usage  of  nations,  a  just  cause  for  war  exists, 
even  where  victory  in  the  war  may  be  reckoned  on,  the 
harm  to  be  expected  may  be  greater  than  the  fruits  of 
victory.  Here  the  harm  was  evident.  The  cost  of  equip- 
ping a  large  force  and  transporting  it  across  many  thou- 
sand miles  of  sea  was  the  smallest  part  of  the  harm.  The 
alienation  of  more  than  half  the  population  of  Cape  Col- 
ony, the  destruction  of  a  peaceful  and  prosperous  Repub- 
lic with  which  Britain  had  no  quarrel,  the  responsibility 
for  governing  the  Transvaal  when  conquered,  with  its 
old  inhabitants  bitterly  hostile— these  were  evils  so  grave 
that  the  benefits  to  be  secured  to  the  Uitlanders  might 
well  seem  small  in  comparison.     A  nation  is,  no  doubt, 


PKEFATUKY   CHAPTER 


XXVll 


re- 


l)ound  to  protect  its  subjects.  But  it  could  hardly  be  said 
that  the  hardships  of  this  group  of  subjects,  which  did 
uot  prevent  others  from  flocking  into  the  country,  and 
which  were  no  worse  than  they  had  ]>een  for  some  time 
previously,  were  such  as  to  forbid  the  exercise  of  a  little 
more  patience.  It  was  said  by  tlie  war  party  among  the 
English  in  South  Afric^a  that  patience  was  being  mistaken 
for  weakness,  and  that  the  credit  of  Britain  was  being 
lowered  all  over  the  world,  and  even  j'mong  the  peoples 
of  India,  by  her  forbearance  toward  the  Transvaal. 
Absurd  as  this  notion  may  appear,  it  was  believed  by 
heated  partizans  on  the  spot.  But  outside  Africa,  and 
especially  in  Europe,  the  forbeauince  of  one  of  the  four 
greatest  Powers  in  the  world  toward  a  community  of 
seventy  thousand  people  was  in  no  danger  of  being  mis- 
understood. 

Whether  the  force  of  these  considerations,  obvious  to 
every  unbiased  mind  which  had  some  knowledge  of  South 
Africa,  was  fully  realized  by  those  who  directed  British 
policy,  or  whether,  having  realized  their  force,  they  never- 
theless judged  war  the  better  alternative,  is  a  question  on 
which  we  are  still  in  the  dark.  It  is  possiV)le— and  some 
of  the  language  used  by  the  British  authorities  may  a})- 
pear  to  suggest  this  explanation— that  they  entered  on 
the  negotiations  which  ended  in  war  in  the  belief  that  an 
attitude  of  menace  would  suffiee  to  extort  su]>missiou,  and 
being  unable  to  recede  from  that  attitude,  found  them- 
selves drawn  on  to  a  result  which  they  had  neither  desired 
nor  contemplated.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  considerations 
above  stated  prescribed  the  use  of  prudent  and  (as  far  as 
possible)  conciliatory  methods  in  their  diplomacy,  as  well 
as  care  in  selecting  a  position  which  would  supply  a  legal 
justification  for  war,  should  war  be  found  the  only  issue. 


XXVlll 


I'KEFATOKY   CHAPTER 


!n 


4I 


i  I 


i     / 


P    f 


■£ 


i. 
{■ 

J 

t 


This  was  the  more  necessary  because  tlie  Boers  were 
known  to  be  intensely  suspicious.  Every  weak  jjower  try- 
in<i:  to  resist  a  stronger  one  must  needs  take  refuge  in 
evasive  and  dihitory  tactics.  Such  had  been,  such  were 
sure  to  be,  tlie  tactics  of  tlie  Boers.  But  tlie  Boers  were 
also  very  distrustful  of  the  English  Government,  believ- 
ing them  to  aim  at  nothing  less  than  the  annexation  of  their 
country.  It  may  seem  strange  to  Englishmen  that  the 
purity  of  their  motives  and  the  disinterestedness  of  their 
efforts  to  spread  good  government  and  raise  others  to 
their  own  level  should  be  doubted.  But  the  fact  is— and 
this  goes  to  the  root  of  the  matter— that  the  Boers  have 
regarded  the  i)ohcy  of  Britain  toward  them  as  a  policy 
of  violence  and  du}>licity.  They  recall  how  Natal  was 
con([uered  from  them  in  1842,  after  they  had  concpiered 
it  from  the  Zulus;  how  their  country  was  annexed  in 
1877 ;  how  the  promises  nuide  at  the  time  of  that  annexa- 
tion were  broken.  They  were  not  aj)peased  by  the  retro- 
cession of  1881,  which  ihey  ascribed  solely  to  British  fear 
of  a  civil  war  in  South  Africa.  It  should,  moreover,  be 
remembered— and  this  is  a  point  which  few  people  in 
Eniiland  do  remember— that  thev  hold  the  annexation  to 
have  been  an  act  of  high-handed  lawlessness  done  in  time 
of  peace,  and  have  deemed  Miemselves  entitled  to  be 
replaced  in  the  position  their  Repuolic  held  before  1877, 
under  the  Sand  River  Convention  of  1852.  Since  the 
invasion  of  December,  1895,  they  have  been  more  sus- 
i^icious  than  ever,  for  they  believo  the  British  Govern- 
ment to  have  had  a  hand  in  that  attempt,  and  tliey  think 
that  influentml  capitalists  have  been  sedulously  scheming 
against  them.  Their  passion  for  independence  is  some- 
thing which  we  in  modern  Europe  find  it  hard  to  realize. 
It  recalls  the  long  struggle  of  the  Swiss  for  freedom  in 


I'KEFATOKV   (JIIAl^TER 


XX  XX 


tlic  fourtooiitli  coiitury,  or  tlie  fieroe  tenacity  whicli  the 
Scotcli  sliowed  in  the  same  a^ire  in  their  resistance  to  tlie 
claim  of  En(,dan(l  to  be  tlieir  "Suzerain  Power."  Tiiis 
passion  was  backed  bv  two  other  sentiments,  an  cva*'-<''cr- 
ated  estimate  of  tlieir  own  strenjj^th  and  a  reliance  on  the 
protecting  hand  of  Providence,  fitter  for  the  days  of  the 
Maccabees  or  of  Cromwell  than  for  our  own  time,  but 
which  will  appear  less  strange  if  the  perils  through  which 
their  nation  had  passed  be  remembered. 

These  were  the  rocks  among  which  the  bark  of  Bi-itish 
diplomacy  had  to  be  steered.  They  were,  however,  rocks 
above  water,  so  it  might  be  hoped  that  war  could  be 
avoided  and  s(mie  valuable  concession  secured.  To  be 
landed  in  war  would  obviously  be  as  great  a  failure  as  to 
secure  no  concession. 

Instead  of  demanding  the  removnl  of  the  specific  griev- 
ances whereof  the  Uitlandei's  coni])lained,  the  British 
Government  resolved  to  endeavor  to  obtain  for  them  an 
easier  acquisition  of  the  electoral  franchise  and  an  anii)ler 
representation  in  the  legislature.  There  was  much  to  be 
yaid  for  this  course.  It  would  avoid  the  tedious  and  vex- 
atious controversies  that  must  have  arisen  over  the  details 
of  the  grievances.  It  woidd,  in  the  long  run,  secure 
rt^form  in  the  best  way,  viz.,  by  the  action  of  public  spirit 
and  enlightenment  within  the  legislature.  It  would 
furnish  a  basis  for  union  between  the  immigrants  and  the 
friends  of  good  government  among  the  burghers  them- 
selves, and  so  conduce  to  the  future  peace  of  the  com- 
munity. There  was,  however,  one  material  condition,  a 
condition  which  might  prove  to  be  an  objection,  affecting 
the  resort  to  it.  Since  the  electoral  franchise  was  a  matter 
entirely  within  the  comi)etence  of  the  South  African 
Republic,  Britain  must,  if  she  desired  to  abide  by  the 


XXX 


I'UEFATOKY   CIIAl'TKU 


t! 


principles  of  international  law,  confine  herself  to  recom- 
mendation and  advi«!e.  She  had  no  ri^ht  to  demand,  no 
right  to  insist,  that  her  advice  should  l)e  followed.  She 
could  not  compel  compliance  by  force,  nor  even  by  the 
threat  of  usinj^  force.  In  other  words,  a  refusal  to  en- 
larjj:e  the  franchise  would  not  furnish  any  cisns  belli. 

This  course  havin^?  been  adopted,  the  negotiations 
entered  on  a  new  phase  with  the  Conference  at  Bloem- 
fontein,  where  President  Kruger  met  the  British  High 
Commissioiun-.  Such  a  direct  interchange  of  views  be- 
tween the  leading  representatives  of  two  Powers  nuiy 
often  be  ex])edient,  because  it  helps  the  parties  to  get 
sooner  to  close  quarters  with  the  substantial  points  of 
difference,  and  so  facilitates  a  compnmiise.  But  its  utility 
depends  on  two  conditions.  Either  the  basis  of  discus- 
sion should  be  arranged  beforeuand,  leaving  only  minor 
matters  to  be  adjusted,  or  else  Uie  proceedings  should  be 
informal  and  private.  At  Bloemfonteiu  neither  condition 
existed.  No  basis  had  been  previously  arranged.  The 
Conference  was  formal  and  (although  the  press  were  not 
admitted)  virtually  public,  each  party  speaking  before  the 
world,  each  watched  and  acclaimed  by  its  supporters  over 
the  country.  The  eyes  of  South  Africa  were  fixed  on 
Bloemfonteiu,  so  that  when  the  Conference  came  to  its 
unfruitful  end,  the  two  parties  were  practically  furtlier 
off  than  befor'^,  and  their  failure  to  agree  accentuated  the 
bitterness  both  of  the  Transvaal  Boers  and  of  the  English 
party  in  the  Colonies.  To  the  more  extreme  men  among 
the  latter  this  result  was  welcome.  There  was  alreadv  a 
war  party  in  tlie  Colony,  and  voices  clamorous  for  war 
were  heard  in  the  English  press.  Both  then  and  after- 
ward every  check  to  the  negoti  tions  evoked  a  burst  of 
joy  from  organs  of  opinion  at  home  and  in  the  Cape, 


rKKl'ATOKV    CJIAI'TEK 


XXXI 


wlios'  articU'S  wen;  unfortunately  telej^raphed  to  Pretoria. 
Worse  still,  the  ery  of  *•  Avenfj;e  Majuba"  was  frecjuently 
heard  in  the  Colonies,  and  sometimes  even  in  England. 

The  story  of  the  negotiations  whieh  followed  during  the 
months  of  July,  August,  and  September  eannot  be  told 
fully  here,  beeause  it  is  long  and  intrieate,  nor  sumnui- 
rized,  beeause  the  fairness  of  any  summary  not  sup])orted 
])y  citations  would  be  disi)utt'd.  Tliere  are,  liowever, 
some  phenomena  in  the  })roeess  of  drifting  toward  war 
whieh  mav  l)e  eoneiselv  noticed. 

One  of  these  is  that  the  contending  parties  were  at  one 
moment  all  but  agreed.  The  Transvaal  Government 
otfered  to  give  the  suffrage  after  live  years'  residence 
(whieh  was  what  had  been  asked  by  the  High  Comnus- 
sioner  at  Bloemfoutein),  coupled  with  (icrtain  conditions 
which  had  little  importance  and  were  afterward  so  ex- 
plained as  to  have  even  less.  This  was,  from  their  point 
of  view,  a  great  concession,  one  to  wliich  they  expected 
opposition  from  the  more  conservative  section  of  their 
own  burghers.  The  British  negotiators,  though  they 
have  since  stated  that  they  meant  substantially  to  accept 
this  proposal,  sent  a  rei)ly  whose  treatment  of  the  condi- 
tions was  understood  as  a  refusal,  and  which  a])peared  to 
raise  further  (juestions ;  and  when  the  Transvaal  went 
back  to  a  previous  offer,  which  had  previously  been  held 
to  furnish  a  basis  for  agreement,  the  British  Government 
declined  to  recur  to  that  basis,  as  being  no  longer  tenable 
after  the  later  offer.  The  Boers,  who  had  expected  (from 
informal  communications)  that  the  fi^e-years  offer  would 
be  readily  accepted,  seem  to  have  thought  that  there  was 
no  longer  any  chance  of  a  settlement,  because  fresh  de- 
mands would  follow  each  concession.  They  ought,  how- 
ever, to  have  persevered  with  their  five-years  offer,  which 
ui 


w 


XXXll 


I'KKFATOKV   CIIAITKU 


^   • 


I     I 


f 


tlicy  could  the  iiioiT  easily  Iwivt*  doiu'  becuuso  they  Ijud 
tacitly  dropped  the  iiusustainahle  claim  to  ha  a  "  jsovereij^u 
and  independent  State,"  and  expressed  tlieniselves  ready 
to  abide  hy  the  Convention  of  1SS4.  The  liritish  (Jovern- 
ment,  on  their  part,  would  seem  to  have  thou^dit,  Avhen  the 
tive-years  otter  was  withdrawn  Ix'causi!  the  <*ondition8 
attached  to  it  were  not  accepted,  that  the  Hoers  had  l»een 
tritlinjj^  with  them,  and  resolved  to  <'xact  all  they  de- 
nuinded,  t^ven  thonjjfh  less  than  all  would  have  rej»resented 
a  diphnnatic  vi(!tory.  Thus  a  contlict  was  precipitated 
which  a  more  cautious  and  tactful  poli<'y  mi^^ht  have 
avoided. 

The  controversy  continued  through  three  months  to 
tnrn  on  the  (piestion  of  the  franchise,  nor  were  any  de- 
mands for  the  redress  of  Uitlander  grievances  ever  for- 
mulated and  addressed  to  the  Transvaal  either  under  tlie 
Convention  of  1SS4  or  in  res})ect  of  the  general  rights  at 
international  law  which  Britain  possessed.  Wlien  the 
franchise  negotiations  came  to  an  inipd.sae,  tlie  British 
Government  announced  (September  22)  that  their  de- 
mands and  scheme  for  a  ''final  settlement  of  the  issues 
created  by  the  policy  of  the  Bepubli<r"— a  phrase  which 
pointed  to  somrthing  more  tlian  the  redress  of  grievances 
—would  be  presented  to  the  Republic.  These  demands, 
however,  never  were  presented  at  all.  After  an  interval 
of  seventeen  days  from  the  announcement  just  mentioned, 
the  Transvaal  declared  war  (October  9  and  11).  The 
terms  of  their  ultimatum  were  offensive  and  peremi)tory, 
such  as  no  government  could  have  been  expected  to  listen 
to.  Apart,  however,  from  the  language  of  the  ultimatum, 
a  declaration  of  war  must  have  been  looked  for.  From 
the  middle  of  July  the  British  Government  had  been 
strengthening  their  garrison  in  South  Africa,  and  the  de- 


I'lv'KFATOliV   CMAITHU 


XXXlll 


IS   to 

y  ^^^'- 

r  for- 
'1*  tht; 
[its  at 
11  the 
iritish 
ir  de- 
issues 
liich 
nices 
aiids, 
erval 
ioned, 
The 
)tory, 
listen 
latiun, 
From 
been 
he  de- 


spatch of  one  body  of  troops  after  aiiotliei'  had  been  pro- 
claimed with  miH'ii  emphasis  in  the  Kiij^dish  newspapers. 
Early  in  October  it  was  announced  that  tlie  Reserves 
wonhl  bo  called  out  and  a  powerful  force  despatched. 
The  Transvaiii  had  meantime  been  also  preparing,'  for  war, 
so  that  the  sendin}^  of  liritish  troops  mi^dit  well,  after 
the  bej^inninj^  of  September,  bo  justified  as  a  necessary 
j)recaution,  since  the  forces  then  in  South  Africa  wen; 
inferior  in  nuinbcn's  to  those  th(!  Jioei's  coidd  mustcj". 
lint  when  tht  latter  knew  that  an  overwhelming''  fon^e 
would  soon  confront  them,  and  draw  round  theni  a  net  of 
steel  wheniH'  they  could  not  escajH',  they  resolved  to  sisize 
the  only  advanta<j^e  they  po.ssessed,  the  advantage  of  time, 
and  to  smite  befon;  their  enemy  was  ready.  It  wjis,  there- 
fore, only  in  a  teclniical  or  formal  sens(!  that  they  <'an  be 
said  to  have  be^un  the  war;  for  a  weak  State,  wliich  s(;es 
its  enemy  approach  with  a  j)()wer  that  will  soon  be;  irre- 
sistible, has  only  two  alternatives,  to  submit  or  to  attack 
at  once.  In  sueh  a  (juarrel  the  re.si)onsibility  does  not 
necessarily  rest  with  those  who  striken  first.  It  rests  with 
those  whose  action  has  nuido  bloodshed  inevitable. 

A  sin«ridar  result  of  the  course  thin|jfs  took  was  that 
war  broke  out  before  any  le<i:itimate  casus  belli  had  arisen. 
Some  one  has  observed  that  whereas  many  wars  luive 
been  wap^ed  to  ^nm  subjects,  none  was  ever  wajred  before 
to  get  rid  of  subjects  by  niakinj^  it  easier  for  them  to  i)ass 
under  another  allej^iance.  The  franchise,  however,  did 
not  constitute  a  legitimate  cause  of  war,  for  the  British 
Government  always  admitted  they  had  no  right  to  demand 
it.  The  real  cause  of  war  was  the  menacing  language  of 
Britain,  coupled  with  her  preparations  for  war.  These 
led  the  Boers  also  to  arm,  and,  as  happened  with  the 
arming  and  counter-arming  of  Prussia  and  Austria  in 


xxxiv 


IMiKIATOUV    CI  I A  IT  KK 


i 


18G(),  wlieii  each  cxp^'cted  an  attack  from  the  other,  war 
inevitably  t'()lh)vved.  To  brandish  the  sword  before  a 
cause  for  war  has  l>een  shown  not  only  impairs  tlie  jtros- 
peet  of  a  j)eaceful  setth-menl,  but  may  ^'ive  the  workl 
ground  for  believinjj^  that  war  is  intended. 

Hy  makin«j;'  tlie  coiu-ession  of  tiie  franchise  the  aim  of 
their  efforts,  and  suiij)ortini;  it  by  demonstrations  which 
drove  tlieir  antagonist  to  arms,  tlie  JJritish  Government 
placed  themselves  l)efore  the  "'orld  in  tiic  position  of  hav- 
ing caused  a  war  without  ever  fornudating  a  aisus  Inlli, 
and  thereby  exposed  their  country  to  unfavorable  com- 
ment from  ot  l^.r  nations.  The  British  negotiators  were, 
it  may  l)e  said,  j)laced  in  a  dilemma  by  the  distance  wliich 
separated  their  army  from  South  Africa,  and  which 
obliged  them  to  move  troo])s  earlier  than  they  need  other- 
wise have  done,  even  at  the  risk  (which,  however,  they 
do  not  seem  to  have  fully  grasped)  of  precijutating  war. 
But  this  difficulty  might  have  been  avoidinl  in  one  of  two 
ways.  They  might  have  pressed  their  suggestion  for  an 
extension  of  the  franchise  in  an  amicable  way,  without 
threats  and  without  moving  troops,  and  have  thereby 
kept  matters  from  coming  to  a  crisis.  Or,  on  the  other 
hand,  if  they  thought  that  the  doggedness  of  the  Trans- 
vaal would  yield  to  nothing  but  threats,  they  might  have 
formulated  demands,  not  for  the  franchise,  but  for  the 
redress  of  grievances,  d(  mands  the  refusal  or  evasion  of 
which  would  constitute  a  proper  cause  of  war,  and  have, 
simultaneously  with  the  presentation  of  those  demands, 
sent  to  South  Africa  a  force  sufficient  at  least  for  the 
defense  of  their  own  territorv.  The  course  actuallv  taken 
missed  the  advantages  of  either  of  these  courses.  It 
brought  on  war  before  the  Colonies  were  in  a  due  state 
of  defense,  and  it  failed  to  justify  war  by  showing  any 


rKi:rAT()i{Y  criAFTKu 


XXXV 


AJir 

\i   a 

jrld 

II  of 

hieh 

llt'Ut 

hav-  • 

bdii, 

com- 

kVL'ir, 

vhich 

vliicli 

jther- 

they 
:  war. 
)f  two 
'or  an 
ithout 
lereby 

otlier 
Traiis- 
liave 
or  the 

ion  of 
have, 
ands, 

or  the 
taken 

es.    It 
state 
ng  any 


m 


cause  for  it  siicli  as  the  usage  of  fivili/t'«l  States  recoj;- 
bizi's. 

As  Cavour  said  that  anv  ouo  can  ''ovcrn  with  a  state 
of  siege,  so  strong  Powers  (h'aling  witii  weak  ones  are 
j)rone  to  thiidv  that  any  kind  of  diphunaey  will  <h>.  The 
lirilisli  Uoverniiient,  eoulick'iit  in  their  strength,  seeni  to 
have  ovorhioked  not  only  the  need  for  taking  up  a  sound 
legal  position,  hut  the  importance  of  retaining  the  good 
will  of  the  Colonial  Dutch,  and  of  preventing  the  Orange 
Free  State  from  taking  sides  with  the  Transvaal.  This 
was  sure  to  happen  if  Britain  was,  oi*  seemed  to  be,  the 
aggressor.  Now  the  British  ( Joverninent,  l>y  the  attitude 
of  menace  they  adopted  while  discussing  the  franchise  (jues- 
tion,  which  furnished  no  cause  foi'  war,  by  tlie  imimrtance 
they  seemed  to  attach  to  the  utterances  of  theliody  <'alling 
itself  the  Uitlander  Council  in  Johannesburg  (a  body 
which  was  in  the  strongest  opj)osition  to  the  Transvaal 
authorities),  as  well  as  by  other  methods  scarcely  eon- 
si.stent  with  dii)lomati<'  usage,  led  ])oth  the  Transvaal  and 
the  Free  State  to  believe  that  tliey  meant  to  ])ress  nnitters 
to  extrenuties,  and  that  mnrh  more  tluui  the  francliise  or 
the  renun'al  of  certain  grievances  was  involved;  in  fact, 
that  the  independence  of  the  Repuldic*  its<'lf  was  at  stake.' 

Thev  cannot  liave  intended  this,  and  indeed  thev  ex- 
pressly  dischiimed  designs  on  the  inde])endence  of  the 
Transvaal.  Nevertheless,  the  Free  State,  when  it  saw- 
negotiations  stop])ed  after  September  22,  and  an  over- 
whelming British  force  ordered  to  South  Africa  while  the 
proposals  foreshadowed  in  the  despatch  of  September 

'  The  laiiRuaf^e  of  the  Eii}?lisli  newspapers  in  Cape  Colony,  and  of 
some  in  London,  did  as  niiu'li  to  stren<i;tlieii  this  belief  as  the  laii- 
pua<;e  of  the  Transvaal  papers  did  to  mtlanie  minds  there.  Seldom 
has  the  press  done  more  to  destroy  tlie  prospects  of  peace. 


h  "■■'■ 


M 


XA..iVi 


rin:i"AT()iiV  ciiaitku 


ii'. 


')■ 


22  rcinaiiu'd  iindisclostMl,  lu'oatno  oouvlncod  flint  Britain 
meant  to  cnisli  tlir  Transvaal.  Hciii^'  bound  l>y  treaty 
to  support  the  Transvaal  if  the  latter  was  unjustly  iit- 
taeked,  and  holding'  the  conduct  of  Hritnin  in  refusinj: 
arl>itration  and  resortinj^  to  foice  without  a  msns  htlli  to 
constitute  an  unjust  attack,  the  Free  State  Volksraad  and 
l)ur<;liers,  who  ha<l  don(^  their  utmost  to  avert  *var,  unhesi- 
t!i.tin«dv  thn^vv  in  their  lot  with  the  sister  Hepuhlic.  The 
act  was  desperate,  hut  it  was  ehivalrie.  The  Free  State, 
hitherto  haj)py,  prosperous,  and  peaceful,  had  nothing-  to 
^ain  and  everything'  to  lose.  Few  of  her  statesnu-n  ciin 
have  doubted  that  Britain  must  prevail  and  that  their 
Kepuhlic  would  share  tlie  ruin  which  awaited  the  Trans- 
vaal Dutch.  Nevertheless,  lumor  and  the  sense  of  kinsliip 
])revailed.  It  is  to  be  liojjcd  that  the  excited  lan«j:ua<re  in 
which  the  i)assi(mate  feelinjjfs  of  the  Free  State  have 
found  expression  will  not  prevent  Kniilishmen  from  rec- 
oirniziiiij:  in  the  condu<'t  of  this  little  comtnunitv  a  heroic? 
(pudity  which  they  would  admire  if  they  met  it  in  the 
annals  of  ancient  (Jreeee. 

It  has  been  sugj^ested  that  the  <iuestion  of  responsi- 
bility for  the  war  is  really  a  trivial  one,  l)eeause  the  nep:o- 
tiations  were  all  alonc^,  on  one  side  or  on  both,  unreal  and 
delusive,  nuisking  the  conviction  of  both  parties  that  they 
must  come  to  blows  at  lasi.  It  is  said  that  a  conflict  for 
supremacy  between  the  Enfrlisli  and  Dutch  races  in  South 
Africa  was  inevitable,  and  it  is  even  allerjed  that  there  was  a 
long-standinn;  conspiracy  amonj]:  the  Dutch,  as  well  in  the 
Colonies  as  in  the  Re])ublics,  to  overmaster  the  British 
element  and  oust  Britain  from  the  countrv. 

On  this  hypothesis  several  observations  may  be  made. 

One  is  that  it  seems  to  be  an  afterthoufrht,  intended  to 
excuse  the  failure  of  diplomacy  to  untie  the  knot.    No 


(     ,i! 


I'UKKATOKV    ClIAITKIi 


XXXVIl 


one  who  studies  tlio  (U'sputcln's  can  tliink  (hut  either  tlio 
Transvaal  (lovrniiiu'iit  or  the  liritish  (t(>vi'rnin('nt  n-- 
ganlrd  war  as  inevitabh;  when  tlie  one  iiiadi*,  and  tht' 
other  sent  a  reply  intended  to  a(!eept,  the  proposals  of 
Anj;ust  1!).  Xt)tliin}^  is  easier  tiian  to  hrin;;  diarpfes  of 
])ad  faith,  hut  he  who  peruses  these  despatehes  with  an 
impartial  mind  will  find  little  or  nothin«;  to  justify  any 
such  imputation  on  either  party. 

Another  is  that  the  alle«j:ation  that  a  calamity  was  in<'vi- 
tttblo  is  one  so  easy  to  make  and  so  hard  to  refute  that 
it  is  eonstantly  employed  to  close  an  emltari'assin^  dis- 
eussion.  You  cannot  ar^ue  with  a  fatalist,  any  more 
than  with  a  prophet.  Nations  whose  conscience  is  clear, 
statesmen  who  have  fore  ijjjht  and  insij^ht,  do  not  throw 
the  hlamc  for  their  failures  upon  Destiny.  The  <*liieftain 
in  Iloniei',  whose  follv  has  broujrht  disaster,  savs:  ''It  is 
not  I  who  am  the  cause  of  this:  it  is  Zeus,  and  P^ate,  and 
the  Furv  that  walketh  in  darkness."  "It  could  not  have 
been  lielped  anyliow,"  "It  was  bound  to  come"— i>hrases 
such  as  these  are  the  la.st  refugee  of  desi)airiny;  incom- 
petence. 

The  liyj)othesis  that  the  Dutcli  all  over  South  Africa 
were  leagued  for  the  overthrow  of  British  i)ower  is  so 
startlinji:  that  it  needs  to  be  supported  by  wide  and  wei«rlity 
evidence.  Is  such  evidence  forthcoming?  It  has  not 
been  produced.  One  who  has  not  been  in  Soutli  Africa 
since  1895  dare  not  rely  on  his  own  observation  to  deny 
the  allep:ation.  But  neithei*  can  Englishmen  at  home 
accept  the  assertions  of  partizans  in  South  Africa,  die 
extravajrance  of  whoso  lan^uapre  shows  that  they  have 
been  carried  away  ^>y  party  passion. 

The  probabilities  of  the  case  are  altoprether  a^rainst  the 
hypothesis,  and  support  the  view  of  a  temperate  writer 


ni 


r 

h 

r: 


)       ; 


I' 


XXXVlll 


PKEFATUKY   CHAPTER 


in  the  "  Edinburgh  Review "  for  October,  who  describes 
it  as  "a  nightmare."     Wliat  are  these  probabilities? 

The  Dutch  in  the  Cai)e  had  been  loyal  till  December, 
1895,  and  had  indeed  been  growing  more  and  more  loyal 
during  the  last  fifteen  years.  The  Africander  Bond  had 
shaken  itself  free  from  the  sus})icions  once  entertained 
of  its  designs.  Its  leader,  Mr.  Hofmeyr,  was  consi)icu- 
ously  attached  to  the  Imperial  connection,  and  was, 
indeed,  the  author  of  a  well-known  scheme  for  an  Im- 
perial Customs  Union.  Even  after  December,  1895,  its 
indignation  at  the  attack  on  the  Transvaal  had  not 
affected  the  veneration  of  the  Dutch  party  for  the  British 
Crov/n,  so  warmly  expressed  in  1897,  In  1898  the  Cape 
Assembly,  in  which  there  was  a  Dutch  nuijority  led  by  a 
Ministry  supported  by  the  Bond,  voted  unanimously  a 
large  annual  contribution  to  Inii)erial  naval  defense. 
Everv  effort  was  made  bv  Mr.  Hofmevr  and  by  the  Prime 
Minister  of  the  Cape  to  induce  the  Transvaal  to  nuike 
concessions  which  might  avert  war.  As  regards  the 
Free  State,  its  Dutch  burghers  had  l)een  for  many  years 
on  the  best  terms  with  their  English  fellow-burghers 
and  with  the  British  Government.  They  had  nothing 
to  gain  by  a  racial  conflict,  and  their  President,  who  is 
understood  to  have  suggested  the  Bloemfontein  Confer- 
ence, as  well  as  Mr.  Fischer,  one  of  their  leading  states- 
men, stro. e  hard  to  secure  peace  till  immediately  before 
war  broke  out. 

There  was,  moreover,  no  prospect  of  success  for  an 
effort  to  overthrow  the  power  of  Britain.  The  Dutch  in 
the  Colony  were  not  fighting-mou  like  their  Transvaal 
brethren,  and  were,  except  for  voting  purposes,  quite 
unorganized.  Those  of  the  Free  State  were  a  mere 
militia,  with  no  experience  of  war,  and  had  possessed. 


/ 

i 

^  ii. 

i 

1 

\ 

; 

1 
1 

1 

PKEFATUKY   CHAPTER 


XXX  I. \ 


at  least  down  to  1895,  when  1  remember  to  have  seeu 
their  tiny  arsenal,  very  little  in  the  way  of  war  muni- 
tions. The  Transvaal  Boers  were  no  doubt  well  armed 
and  good  fighters,  but  there  were,  after  all,  only  some 
twenty  or  twenty-five  thousand  of  them,  a  handful  to 
contend  against  the  British  Empire.  The  Transvaal 
Government  was,  moreover,  from  its  structure  and  the 
capacity  of  the  men  who  composed  it,  if  not  indisposed  to 
indulge  in  day-dreams,  at  any  rate  unfit  to  prosecute  so 
vast  an  enterprise. 

There  seems  therefore  to  be  no«foundation  in  any  facts 
which  have  so  far  been  made  public  for  the  belief  in  this 
''  conspiracy  of  the  Dutch  race,"  or  in  the  inevitableness 
of  the  imagined  conflict. 

The  truth  would  appear  to  be  that  the  Transvaal  people 
did  at  one  time  cherish  the  hope  of  extending  their  Re- 
public over  the  wide  interior.  They  were  stopped  on 
the  west  in  188-t.  They  were  stopped  on  the  north  in 
1890.  They  were  stopped  in  their  effort  to  reach  the  sea 
in  1894.  After  that  ;\  ar  British  territory  surrounded 
them  on  all  sides  except  where  they  bordered  the  Portu- 
guese on  the  northeast.  Many  of  them,  including  tlie 
President,  doubtless  cherished  the  hope  of  sometime 
regaining  a  complete  independence  such  as  that  of  the 
Free  State.  Some  ardent  spirits  dreamed  of  a  Dutch  South 
African  Republic  with  Pretoria  for  its  future  capital ; 
and  there  were  probably  a  few  men  of  the  same  visionary 
type  in  the  Colony  and  the  Free  State  who  talked  in  the 
same  wild  way,  especially  after  the  Jameson  invasion 
had  stirred  Dutch  feeling  to  its  depths.  But  from  su(^h 
dreams  and  such  talk  it  is  a  long  step  to  a  "  conspiracy 
of  the  Dutch  over  all  South  Africa.''  The  possibility 
that  the  Dutch  element  would  some  day  or  other  prevail, 


i 


111  ••     » 

If 


I-  y 


3d 


PKEFATOKY  CHAPTEli 


a  possibility  to  which  the  slowness  of  British  immigration 
and  the  natural  growth  of  the  Dutch  population  gave  a 
certain  substance  down  to  1885,  was  in  that  year  de- 
stroyed by  the  discovery  of  gold  in  the  Witwatersrand, 
which  brought  a  new  host  of  English-speaking  settlers 
into  South  Africa,  and  assured  the  numerical  and  eco- 
nomic preponderance  of  the  English  in  the  progressive 
and  expanding  regions  of  the  country.  It  is  also  true  that 
the  Transvaal  Government  made  military  preparations 
and  imported  arms  on  a  large  scale.  They  expected  a 
rising  even  before  1895,  and  after  1895  they  also  ex- 
pected a  fresh  invasion.  But  there  is  not,  so  far  as  the 
public  know,  any  shred  of  evidence  that  they  contem- 
plated an  attack  upon  Britain.  The  needs  of  defense,  a 
defense  in  which  they  doubtless  counted  on  the  aid  of 
the  Free  State  and  of  a  section  of  their  own  Uitlanders, 
sufficiently  explain  the  accumulation  of  warlike  muni- 
tions on  which  so  much  stress  has  been  laid. 

The  conclusion  to  which  an  examination  of  the  matter 
leads  is  that  no  evidence  whatever  has  been  produced 
either  that  there  was  any  such  conspiracy  as  alleged,  or 
that  a  conflict  between  Dutch  and  English  was  inevitable. 
Such  a  conflict  might,  no  doubt,  have  possibly  some  day 
arisen.  But  it  is  at  least  equally  probable  that  it  might 
have  been  avoided.  The  Transvaal  people  were  not  likely 
to  provoke  it,  and  every  year  made  it  less  likely  that  they 
could  do  so  with  anv  chance  of  success.  The  British 
element  was  increasing,  not  only  around  their  State,  but 
within  it.  The  prospect  of  support  from  a  great  European 
Power  had  vanished.  When  their  aged  President  retired 
from  the  s(iene,  their  old  dissensions,  held  in  check  only 
by  the  fear  of  Britain,  would  have  reappeared,  and  their 
vicious  system  of  government  would  have  fallen  to  pieces. 


I     ! 


PKEFATOKY   CHAPTER 


\li 


So  far  as  Britain  was  concerned,  the  way  to  avert  a  con- 
flict was  to  have  patience.  Haste  had  been  her  bane  in 
South  Africa.  It  was  haste  which  annexed  the  Transvaal 
in  1877,  when  a  few  mouths'  delay  might  have  given  her 
the  country.  It  was  haste  which  in  1880  wrecked  the 
plan  of  South  African  Confederation.  It  was  luiste  which 
brought  about  that  main  source  of  recent  troubles,  the 
invasion  by  the  South  Africa  Company's  j)olice  in  1895. 

In  these  reflections  upon  recent  events  nothing  has 
been  said,  because  nothing  could  now  be  profitably  sjiid, 
upon  two  aspects  of  the  matter— the  character  and  con- 
duct of  the  persons  chiefly  concerned,  and  the  subter- 
ranean forces  which  are  supposed  to  have  been  at  work 
on  both  sides.  These  must  be  left  to  some  future  his- 
torian, and  they  will  form  an  interesting  chapter  in  his 
book.  He  will  have  proof  positive  of  many  things  which 
can  now  only  be  conjectured,  and  of  some  things  which, 
though  they  may  be  known  to  a  few,  ought  not  to  be 
stated  until  proof  of  them  can  be  produced. 

It  is  right,  however,  even  while  war  is  raging,  to  con- 
sider the  circumstances  that  have  led  to  war,  so  far  as 
these  can  be  discussed  from  the  information  which  we 
all  possess,  because  a  fair  consideration  of  those  circum- 
stances ought  to  influence  the  view  which  Englishmen 
take  of  their  antagonists,  and  ought  to  affect  their  judg- 
ment of  the  measures  proper  to  be  taken  when  war  conies 
to  its  end,  and  arrangements  have  to  be  made  for  the 
resettlement  of  the  country.  Those  who  have  read  the 
historical  chapters  of  this  book,  and  have  reflected  on 
the  history  of  other  British  colonies,  and  particularly  of 
Canada,  will  have  drawn  the  moral,  which  I  have  sought 
to  enforce  in  the  concluding  chapter,  that  what  South 
Africa  most  needs   is   the   reconcilement   and  ultimate 


Ij/""t4i«u 


XiU 


PREFATORY   CHAPTER 


II 


I!      ?! 


■ 


V    if 


i 


fusion  of  the  two  white  races.  Reconcilement  and  fu- 
sion have  now,  to  all  appearances,  been  thrown  into 
a  dim  and  distant  future.  That  man  must  be  sanguine 
indeed  who  expects,  as  some  persons  say  they  do  expect, 
to  see  the  relations  of  the  two  races  placed  on  a  better 
footing  by  a  bitter  war  between  them,  a  war  which  has 
many  of  the  incidents  of  a  civil  war,  and  is  waged  on  one 
fiidfi  by  citiz'.ii  soldiers.  To  most  observers  it  seems 
more  likely  to  sow  a  crop  of  dragon's  teeth  which  will 
produce  a  harvest,  if  not  of  armed  men,  yet  of  perma- 
nent hatred  and  disaffection.  Nevertheless,  even  at  the 
darkest  moment,  me  a  must  work  with  hope  for  the 
future,  and  strive  to  apply  the  principles  of  policy  which 
experience  has  approved.  The  first  principle  which  gov- 
erns the  relation  of  Britain  to  her  self-governing  colonies 
is  that  she  must  do  all  she  can  to  keep  them  contented 
and  loyal.  She  cannot  hope  permane.ntly  to  retain  any 
which  have  become  disloyal,  and  the  defection  of  one 
may  be  the  signal  for  the  loosening  of  the  tie  which 
binds  the  others.  The  gift  of  self-government  practically 
makes  the  maintenance  of  the  Imperial  connection  de- 
pendent on  the  will  of  the  colony;  and. where  self-govern- 
ment exists,  voting  is  more  powerful  than  arms.  The 
Transvaal  Kepublic  has  been  often  troublesome,  but  au 
unfriendly  neighbor  is  less  dangerous  than  a  disaffected 
colony.  A  wise  policy  will  therefore  use  with  moderation 
the  opportunities  which  the  conclusion  of  the  present  war 
will  afford  for  resettling  the  political  arrangements  of 
the  country,  remembering  that  the  Dutch  and  British 
races  have  got  to  live  together,  looking  forward  to  a 
time,  probably  less  than  a  century  distant,  when  the 
exhaustion  of  mineral  wealth  will  have  made  South 
Africa  again  a  pastoral  and  agricultural  country,  and 


PREFATORY   CHAPTER 


xliu 


tliereby  increased  the  importance,  relatively  to  the  town 
dwelling  English,  of  that  Dntch  element  which  is  so 
deeply  rooted  in  the  soil.  To  reconcile  the  races  by  em- 
ploying all  the  natural  and  human  forces  which  make 
for  peace  and  render  the  prosperity  of  each  the  i)rosper- 
ity  of  both,  and  so  to  pave  the  way  for  the  ultimate  fusion 
of  Dutchman  and  Englishman  in  a  common  Imperial  as 
well  as  a  common  Afrieandei-  patriotism— this  should  be 
the  aim  of  every  government  that  seeks  to  base  the  world- 
wide grea*^^i)ess  of  Britain  on  the  deepest  and  surest 
foundations. 

October  23,  1899. 


/«^ 


u 


I  ill  I 


V'      J! 


1  i  It 

|! 

TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


PREFATORY  CHAPTER  TO  THE  THIRD  EDITION 
INTRODUCTION 

PART   I-NATURE 

Chapter  I 
PHYSICAL   FEATURES 


The  Coast  Strip  and  the  Great  Plateau 

Mountain-ranges 

Climate 

*        • 
The  Absence  op  Rivers    . 


PAGE 
2 
4 

6 

7 


Temperature 
Dryness  op  the  Air 
Malarial  Fevers 


Chapter  II 
HEALTH 


10 
12 
13 


Chapter  III 
WILD  ANIMALS  AND  THEIR  FATE 

Original  .abundance  of  Wild  Creatures      . 
Their  Extinction:  the  Lion  and  the  Leopard 
The  Elephant  and  the  Rhinoceros;  Antelopes. 
Recent  Attempts  at  Protection 

xlv 


16 

n 
19 
21 


xlvi 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


Chapter  IV 


VEGETATION 


Character  op  the  South  African  Flora 

Native  and  Imported  Trkes    . 

Changes  Made  by  Man  in  the  Landscape 


PAOK 

.  23 
.  25 
.     30 


t 


Chapter  V 

PHYSICAL  ASPECTS  OF   THE  VARIOUS  POLITICAL 

DIVISIONS 

Cape  Colony 32 

Natal 35 

German  and  Portuguese  Africa 36 

The  Orange  Free  State  and  T"r,  South  African  Republic  37 
Bechuanaland  and  the  Territories  of  the  British  South 

Africa  Company 39 


Chapter  VI 


1 1 


NATURE  AND  HISTORY 

Influence  op  Physical  Conditions  on  the  Savage  Races  .  43 

The  Slow  Progress  of  Early  European  Settlement         .  44 

Later  Explorations  along  the  Temperate  Plateau  .        .  47 


Chapter  VII 


ASPECTS  OF  SCENERY 


W  ' 


f  II 


Dryness  and  Monotony  of  South  African  Landscape       .  49 

Striking  Pieces  of  Scenery:  Basutoland,  Manicaland      .  50 

Peculiar  Charms  of  South  Africa  :  Color  and  Solitude  .  53 

Influence  op  Scenery  on  Character 56 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  xlvii 

PART  II 
A  SKETCH  OF  SOUTH  AFRICAN  HISTORY 

Chapter  VIII 

THE   NATIVES:   HOTTENTOTS,  BUSHMEN,  AND   KAFIRS 

IHK  Aborioixks:  Bushmkx  and  Hottentots         .        .        .go 
The  Bantl'  or  Kaj'ir  Tribes   ..,,,,        [    (54 


Chapter  IX 
OUT   OF   THE   DAKKNESS-ZIMBABWYE 

Ancient  Walls  in  Matabililand  and  Mashonaland 

Dhlodhlo:  ("hipadzi's  Grave 

The  Great  Zimbabw'^'e * 

Theories  as  to  lyv  Builders  op  the  Ancient  Walls 
The  Ancient  Gold-workings     .... 


68 
09 
74 
77 
79 


Chapter  X 

THE   KAFIRS:   THEIR  HISTORY  AND   INSTITU ;;^IONS 

The  Kafirs  before  their  Struggles  with  the  Europeans    82 

83 

84 
80 
89 

9;{ 

95 


Careers  of  Dingiswayo  and  Tshaka 

Results  of  the  7'jlu  Conquests 

Kafir  Institutions 

War  and  Religion 

Sorcery       .... 

Stagnation  and  Cruelty  of  Primitivk  Kafir  Lipp,     . 

Chapter  XI 
THE   EUROPEANS   IN   SOUTH  AFRICA   TILL   1854 

The  Portuguese  at  Sofala     .        .        . 

The  Dutch  at  the  Cape:  The  French  Huguenots 

Africander  Type  of  Life  and  Character     . 


.    99 

.  103 
.  105 


fi*^^ 


> 


I     I 


xlviii 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


TiiK  Ditch  Company:  Disafkkction  ok  thk  Settlehs 

liUITISH    OcriPATION    OF   THE   CaPE     . 

Featl'kes  ok  Hkitish  Administkation    . 

lioKH  Discontent  and  its  Causes    . 

The  Great  Trek  ok  1836 

Adventl'res  ok  the  Emiorant  Boers 

The  Emiorant  Boers  in  Natal 

British  Occupation  ok  Natal 

The  Boers  in   the  Interior:  Beoixnings  ok   Kepudlic 

Government         

British  Advance:  the  Oranoe  River  Sovereiontv     . 
The  Sand  Kiver  Convention   ok  lHr)2:    Independence 

THE  Transvaal  Boers        

The  Bloemkontein  Convention  ok  1854:  Independence 

THE  Orange  Free  State    


PAOR 

108 

no 

112 
113 
110 
IIU 
121 
123 


AN 


OF 


OK 


127 

130 
132 
134 


Chapter  XII 


i'    I 


THE  EUROPEANS  IN   SOUTH  AFRICA,   1854-95 

Progress  op  Cape  Colony 

Grant  ok  Responsible  Government  in  1872  . 

Kafir  Wars:  Causes  of  their  Frequent  Recurrence 

Renewed  British  Advance:  Basutoland 

The  Delagoa  Bay  Arbitration 

First  Scheme  of  South  African  Confederation 

The  Zulu  War  op  1879 

Formation  of  the  Transvaal  Republic 

Annexation  of  the  Transvaal 

Revolt  of  the  Transvaal :  its  Independence  Restored 
Boers  and  English  in  Bechuanaland    .... 
Conventions  of  1884  and  1894:  Swaziland  Conceded  . 
German  Occupation  of  Damaraland      .... 
The  British  South  Africa  Company:  Acquisition  op  Ma 

shonaland  and  Matabililand 

Recent  History  of  the  Transvaal:  the  Rising  op  1895 


1.37 
142 
143 
146 

150 
151 
1.53 
155 
157 
103 
10!) 
170 
173 

175 
179 


i 


TAHLK   OF  CONTENTS 


xlix 


PART  III-A  JOUKNKY  TIIKOUdll  SOUTH  AFRICA 


Chai'Tku  XIII 

TRAVELING   AND  COMMUNICATKWS 

Communications  alon(j  thk  Coast  .... 
Links  of  Railkoai> 

TkaVEL1N(>   by   OX-WA(iON 


PA  (IK 

.  ih:j 

.   184 
.   1H5 


Chai'ter  XIV 
FROM   CAPE  TOWN   TO   BULAWAYO 


Cape  Town  and  its  Envikons 

The  Joi'KNEY  Inland:  Scenery  ok  the  Kakh 

KiMHEKLEY   AND    ITS   DiAMOND-FlELDS 
NOKTHWARD    THROUOH   BeCHUANALAND 

KiiAMA  :  HIS  Town  and  his  I'eoi'LE 
Manowe  and  THE  Matopi'o  Hills    . 


oo 


IDf) 
1!>9 
L'O] 
li(i7 
1!14 
'J2() 


Chapter  XV 

FROM   BULAWAYO   TO   FORT    SALISBURY-MATA- 
BILILANl)  AND   MASHONALAND 

Bulawayo  and  Lo  Bengula  .... 
The  Natives:  Catses  of  the  Risino  of  1896 
The  Native  Labor  Question  .... 
Dhlodhlo  :  Scenery  of  the  Hill-country  . 
GwELO  and  the  Track  to  Fort  Vic  'oria 
Ruins  of  Great  Zimbabwye  .... 
Fort  Salisbury 


22.3 
22fi 
231 
2.34 
240 
244 
248 


Chapter  XVI 

FROM   FORT   SALISBURY   TO   THE   SEA-MANICALAND 
AND   THE   P(  RTUGUESE   TERRITORIES 


Scenery  op  Eastern  Mashonaland 
Antiquities  at  the  Lezapi  River  . 


251 
255 


-lUJIlll 


'( 


i 


rl' 


I 


TABLE   OF   CONTKNTS 


I>A(1K 

.  201 
.  *JG7 


Am(>N(J  tiik  Moi'ntains:  Kai,i<h  ok  tiik  Ocdzi 

MaNICALAN'U   and   tiik    I'ojtTl'dt'KSK    HoKDER       . 
ClIIMOVO   ANI>   TIIK    KasTKKN    Hi.OI'K      . 

Dkscknt  <»k  tiik  I'i'nuwk  liivKK  Tti  Mkiua 


Chai'Tkr  XVII 

unSKliVATloNS  OX   TIIK   KKSorUCKS  AND   FUTUUE  OF 
MATAHILIIiANl)   AND   MASIIONALAND 

Oknkkal  Fkati'Iiks  ok  tiik  Hkitish  Soitii  Akiu(!a  Tompany'h 

Tkuhitoiuks 279 

Hkai.tii,  Wkai/i'ii,  and  I'kack 281 

KKsiii/rs  OK  Hkitish  FiXTKNsioN  in  tiik  North      .        .        .  289 


('HAPTKR   XVIII 


TIIUOUGH   NATAL   TO   THE   TRANSVAAL 


Dklaooa  Bay      

dur'.an  and  piktermaritzburo 
Government  and  Pomtics  op  Natal 
Laing's  Nek  and  Majuba  Hill 
The  Witwatersrand  and  its  Gold-kields 
Johannesburg  and  Pretoria     . 


.  291 
.  292 
.  295 
.  302 
.  307 
.  319 


Chapter  XIX 

THE  ORANGE   FREE  STATE 

Bloempontein 325 

Constitution  and  Politics  op  the  Free  State     .        .       .  327 


Chapter  XX 

BASUTOLAND:  THE  SWITZERLAND  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 

Across  the  Free  State  to  the  Caledon  River   .        .        .  331 
The  Missionaries  and  the  Chiefs-  Lerothodi      .       .        .  334 


TAIJLK  ol'  CUNTKNTS 
The  Ascf.nt  of  M(»int  MAriiACMA     .        .        .        . 

TirvllA    HOSIVO    ANIt    ITS    IIISTOUY  .  .  .  . 

(_'oNl»lTI«)N   AND    I'KOSl'KCTS  OF  TUB   BaBUTO   NaTION 


I'AUK 

.  :t4:) 


PART  IV-SOME  SOUTH  AFKK^AN  QUESTIONS 

rUAI'TKU  XXI 

BLACKS  AND   WHITES 

TlIK   NON-TKIBAI.  C()U)KKI)    PKOPLK .'J<»1 

Attiti'dk  of  tiik  Whitks  to  thk  Nativkh      ....  :M).'» 
Thkatmknt  of  thk  Nativks:   Legislation  Affecting  Them  ;i(»7 

The  Tuibai.  Kafius ;{7r> 

ruoBABLE  Future  of  the  Natives :JH0 


.  291 
.  292 
.  295 
.  302 
.  307 
.  319 


.  325 
.  327 


^RICA 

.  331 

.  334 


Chaptek  XXII 

MISSK  )NS 

Want  op  Kelioious  Ideas  among  the  Kafirs 
Results  of  Missionary  Kffort 

poly(jamy 

Attitude  of  the  Colonists  towar:*  Missions 

Chapter  XXI II 


.  384 
.  3H(5 
.  389 
.  391 


SOCIAL  CHARACTERISTICS  OP  THE  TWO   BRITISH 

COLONIES 

The  Dutch  and  the  English:  the  Dutch  Language  .       .  394 

Placidity  of  South  African  Life 398 

Literature,  Journalism.  Education 402 

The  Churches 404 

Chapter  XXIV 
POLITICS  IN  THE  TWO  BRITISH  COLONIES 


The  FRAiiE  op  Government 

Absence  op  Some  Familiar  Political  Issues 


.  407 
.  411 


<  <      > 


!>       1 


I.      i 


HI  TABLE  OF  CONTEXTS 

The  Real  Issues  Turn  on  Race  and  Color    . 
General  Character  of  Cape  Politics     .... 

Chapter  XXV 

THE    SITUATION  IN   THE   TRANSVAAL   BEFORE 
THE   RISINU  OF   1895 

The  Old  Boers  and  the  New  Immigrants 
Constitution  and  Governmknt  of  the  Rkpublic  . 
Uitlander  Discontent  :  the  National  I'nion 
The  Capitalists:  Preparations  for  a  Revolution 
President  Kruger  and  mis  Policy   .... 
Prospects  of  the  Movement  :  Causes  of  its  Failure 

Chapter  XXVI 
THE  ECONOMIC   FUTURE   OF   SOUTH  AFRIC. 

Material  Resources  :  Tillage  and  Pasture  . 
Minerals:  the  Gold-fields  and  their  Duration 
"Will  Manufactures  be  Developed? 

South  Africa  as  a  Market 

Future  Population:  its  Increase  and  Character 

Chapter  XXVII 
REFLECTIONS  AND  FORECASTS 

Sources  op  the  Tpoubles  of  South  Africa  . 
The  Friction  of  Dutch  and  English  :  its  Causes 
British  Policy  in  its  Earlier  and  Later  Phases 
Future  Relations  of  the  European  and  Native  Races 
Adjustment  of  the  Relations  of  Boers  and  Englishmen 
Prospects  of  South  African  Confederation 

South  Africa  and  Britain 

Transvaal  Convention  op  ISSl 
Transvaal  Convention  op  1884 

INDEX     

Orographical      \ 
Maps    <J     political  >         at  the  end  of  the  volu 

Rainfall  ) 


PAGK 
.    413 

.  417 


APPENDIX 


4l^0 
424 

4l'S 

4:j2 

430 
441 


448 
454 
400 
405 
407 


471 
473 
477 

482 
4S0 
48f) 
494 

497 
508 

515 


•S 


ME. 


i     ?: 


Si 


INTRODUCTION 

IN  tlie  latter  part  of  the  year  1895  I  traveled  aorosss 
South  Africa  from  Cape  Town  to  Fort  Salisbury  in 
Mashoualand,  passing  through  Beehuanaland  and  Mata- 
bililand.  From  Fort  Salisbur}',  which  is  only  two  hun- 
dred miles  from  the  Zambesi,  I  returned  through  Manica- 
land  and  the  Portuguese  territories  to  Beira  on  the  Indian 
Ocean,  sailed  thence  to  Delagoa  Bay  and  Du^-ban,  traversed 
Natal,  and  visited  the  Transvaal,  the  Orange  Free  State, 
Basutoland,  and  the  eastern  province  of  Cape  Colony, 
Tlie  country  had  long  possessed  a  great  interest  for  me, 
and  that  interest  was  increased  by  studying  on  the  sjjot 
the  physical  cliaracter  and  the  peculiar  economic  and 
industiial  conditions  which  have  made  it  unlike  the  other 
newlv  settled  countries  of  the  world.  Seeing  these  tilings, 
and  talking  with  the  leading  men  in  every  part  of  the 
country,  I  began  to  comprehend  many  things  that  had 
previously  been  obscure  to  me,  and  saw  how  the  polit- 
ical troubles  of  the  land  were  connected  witli  the  life 
wliich  nature  imposed  on  the  people.  Imminliately  after 
my  return  to  Europe,  fresh  political  troubles  broke  out, 
and  the  events  occurred  in  the  Transvaal  which  fixed  the 
eyes  of  the  whole  world  upon  South  Africa.  I  had  not 
traveled  with  any  view  to  writing  a  book  ;  but  the  interest 


liv 


INTRODUCTION 


)!! 


J 

i 


i  i 


which  the  events  just  mentioned  liave  aroused,  and  wliich  is 
likely  to  be  sustained  for  a  good  while  to  come,  leads  me 
to  believe  that  the  impressions  of  a  tniveler  who  has  visited 
other  new  countries  may  be  useful  to  those  who  desire  to 
know  what  South  Africa  is  really  like,  and  wh}'  it  makes 
a  noise  and  stir  in  the  world  disproportionate  to  its  small 
popuhition. 

In  ('ailing  the  book  "  Impressions  "  I  mean  to  disclaim 
any  intention  to  present  a  complete^  and  minute  account  of 
the  country.  To  do  that  would  reipiire  a  long  residence 
and  a  large  volume.  It  is  only  the  salient  features  tliat  I 
wish  to  describe.  These,  after  all,  are  what  most  readers 
desire  to  know.  These  are  what  the  traveler  of  a  few 
weeks  or  months  can  give,  and  can  give  all  the  better  be- 
cause the  details  have  not  become  so  familiar  to  him  as  to 
obscure  the  broad  outlines. 

Instead  of  giving  a  simple  narrative  of  my  journey,  and 
weaving  into  it  observations  on  the  country  and  people,  I 
have  tried  to  arrange  the  materials  collected  in  a  way  bet- 
ter fitted  to  give  to  the  reader  in  their  natural  connection 
the  things  he  will  desire  to  have.  Those  things  would 
seem  to  be  the  following:  (1)  the  physical  character  of 
the  country,  and  the  aspects  of  its  scenery ;  (2)  the  char- 
acteristics of  the  native  races  that  inhabit  it  -,  (3)  the  his- 
tory of  the  natives  and  of  the  European  settlers,  that  is  to 
say,  the  chief  events  which  have  made  the  people  what 
they  now  are  ;  (4)  the  present  condition  of  different  parts 
of  the  country,  and  the  sort  of  life  men  lead  in  it ;  (5)  the 
economic  resources  of  the  country,  and  the  main  features 
of  its  society  and  its  politics. 

These  I  have  tried  to  present  in  the  order  above  indi- 
cated. The  first  seven  chapters  contain  a  very  brief  ac- 
count of  the  physical  structure  and  climate,  since  these 


:  I 


J 


INTRODUCTION 


Iv 


of 
lar- 
lis- 

is  to 
hat 

)ai'ts 
the 


are  the  conditions  which  liave  chiefly  determined  the 
economic  progress  of  the  country  and  the  lines  of  Euro- 
pean migration,  together  with  remarks  on  the  wihl  ani- 
mals, the  vegetation,  and  the  scenery.  Next  follows  a 
sketch  of  the  threii  aboriginal  races,  and  an  outline  of  the 
history  of  the  whites  since  their  iii'st  arrival,  four  centu- 
ries ago.  The  earlier  events  are  lightly  touched  on,  while 
those  which  have  l)rouglit  about  the  present  political  situa- 
tion are  more  fully  related.  In  the  third  part  of  the  book 
I  have  asked  the  reader  to  accompany  me  on  the  long 
journey  from  Cape  Town  to  the  Zambesi  Valley  and  back 
again,  giving  in  four  chapters  a  description  of  the  far  inte- 
rior as  one  sees  it  passing  from  barbarism  to  civilization 
—its  scenery,  the  prospects  of  its  material  develoj)ment, 
the  life  which  its  new  settlers  lead.  These  regions,  being 
the  part  of  the  country  most  lately  brought  under  Euro- 
pean administration,  seem  to  deserve  a  fuller  description 
than  the  older  and  better-known  regions.  Three  other 
chapters  give  a  more  summary  account  of  Natal,  of 
the  Transvaal  gold-flelds,  of  that  model  republic,  the 
Orange  Free  State,  and  of  Basutoland,  a  native  state 
under  British  protection  which  possesses  many  features 
of  peculiar  interest.  In  the  fourth  and  last  division  of 
the  book  several  questions  of  a  more  general  character  p^e 
discussed  which  could  not  conveniently  be  brought  into 
either  the  historical  or  the  descriptive  parts.  I  have  se- 
lected for  discussion  those  topics  which  are  of  most  per- 
manent importance  and  as  to  which  the  reader  is  most 
likely  to  be  curious.  Among  them  are  the  condition  of 
the  natives,  and  their  relations  to  the  white  people ;  the 
aspects  of  social  and  political  life ;  the  situation  of  affairs 
in  the  Transvaal  in  1895,  and  the  causes  which  brought 
about  the  Reform  rising  and  the  expedition  of  Dr.  Jame- 


■ftKMWlRiaBaLliJW.^ 


)i.' 

Il', 


I   c 


H. 


'  i"     * 

(1 

'      : 

••<      i 

■    1   ! 

'    i  i 

)'7 


Ivi 


INTRODUCTION 


son ;  and  finally,  the  economic  prospects  of  the  country, 
and  the  political  future  of  its  colonies  and  republics. 

In  these  concluding  chapters,  as  well  as  in  the  historical 
sketch,  my  aim  has  been  to  set  forth  facts  rather  than  to 
pass  judgments  upon  the  cliaracter  and  conduct  of  indi- 
viduals. Whoever  desires  to  help  others  to  a  fair  view  of 
(iurrent  events  must  endeavor  not  only  to  be  impartial, 
))ut  also  to  avoid  all  that  may  expose  his  impartiality 
to  suspicion ;  and  where  the  events  to  be  described  are 
the  theme  of  heated  controversy,  no  judgment  ])assed  on 
individual  actors  could  fail  to  be  deemed  partial  b}'  one 
set  of  partizans  or  by  the  otlier.  I  have  sought  to  write 
what  those  who  desire  to  understand  the  country  nuiy 
find  useful  even  after  the  next  two  or  three  years  have 
j)assed,  feeling  sure  that  the  present  problems  will  take 
some  time  to  solve.  And,  so  far  from  wishing  to  champion 
any  view  or  to  throw  any  fresh  logs  on  the  fire  of  contro- 
vers}'  that  has  T)een  })lazing  for  the  last  two  years,  I  am 
convinced  that  the  thing  now  most  needed  in  the  interests 
of  South  Africa  is  to  let  controversies  die  out,  to  endeavor 
to  forget  the  causes  of  irritation,  and  to  look  at  the  actual 
facts  of  the  case  in  a  purely  practical  spirit. 

Altogether  apart  from  its  recent  troubles.  South  Africa 
is  a  most  ciu'ious,  and  indeed  fascinating,  subject  of 
study.  There  are,  of  course,  some  things  which  one  can- 
not expect  to  find  in  it.  There  has  not  yet  been  time  to 
evolve  institutions  either  novel  or  specially  instructive, 
nor  to  produce  new  types  of  character  (save  that  of  the 
Transv  aal  Boer)  or  new  forms  of  social  life.  There  are  no 
ancient  buildings,  except  a  few  prehistoric  ruins ;  nor  have 
any  s(!hools  of  architecture  or  painting  or  literature  been 
developed  as  yet.  But  besides  the  aspects  of  nature,  often 
weird  and  sometimes  beautiful,  there  are  the  savage  raceSj 


INTRODUCTION 


Ivii 


whose  usages  and  superstitions  open  a  wide  field  for  re- 
search, and  the  phenomena  of  whose  contact  with  the 
whites  raise  some  grave  and  gkwni}'  problems.  There  are 
the  relations  of  the  two  European  races— races  which 
ought  long  ago  to  have  been  happily  blended  into  one,  but 
which  have  been  kept  apart  by  a  train  of  untoward  events 
and  administrative  errors.  Few  of  the  newer  countries 
have  had  a  more  curious^  and  checkered  history ;  and  this 
history  needs  to  be  studied  with  a  constant  regard  to  the 
pliysical  conditions  that  molded  it.  Coming  down  to  our 
own  time,  nowhere  are  the  struggles  of  the  past  seen  to  be 
more  closely  intertwined  with  tlie  troubles  of  the  present ; 
nor  does  even  Irish  history  furnish  a  better  illustration 
of  the  effect  of  sentiment  ui)on  practical  politics.  Few 
events  of  recent  times  have  presented  more  dranuitic  sit- 
uations, and  raised  more  curious  and  intricate  issues  of 
political  and  international  morality,  than  those  which  the 
discovery  of  the  Transvaal  gold-fields  and  the  rush  of 
nineteenth-centmy  miners  and  speculators  into  a  i)opula- 
tionof  seventeenth-century  shepherds  have  lately  set  before 
us.  Most  interesting  of  all  are  the  problems  of  the  future. 
It  is  too  soon  to  do  more  than  guess  at  them ;  but  the 
world  now  moves  so  fast,  and  has  grown  so  small,  and 
sees  nearly  every  part  of  it  so  closely  l)ound  by  ties  of 
commerce  or  politics  to  every  other  part,  that  one  cannot 
think  of  any  great  and  new  country  without  seeking  to 
interpret  its  tendencies  by  the  experience  of  other  coun- 
tries, and  to  conjecture  the  role  it  will  be  called  on  to 
play  in  the  world-drama  of  the  future.  I  have  sought, 
therefore,  not  onlv  to  make  South  Africa  real  to  those 
who  do  not  know  it,  and  to  give  them  the  materials 
for  understanding  what  passes  there  and  following  its 
fortunes  with  intelligence,  but  also  to  convey  an  impres- 


Iviii 


INTRODUCTION 


sion  of  the  kind  of  interest  it  awakens.  One  sees  still  in 
its  fluid  state  the  substance  that  v.ill  soon  crystallize  into 
new  forms.  One  speculates  on  the  result  which  all  these 
mingled  forces,  these  ethnic  habits  and  historical  traditions 
and  economic  conditions,  will  work  out.  And  reflecting 
on  all  tliese  things,  one  feels  sure  that  a  country  so  pecu- 
liar, which  has  compressed  so  much  history  into  the  last 
eighty  years  of  its  life,  will  hold  a  conspicuous  place  in 
that  southern  homispliere  which  has  in  our  own  times  en- 
tered into  the  political  and  industrial  life  of  the  civilized 
world. 


II 


! 


in 
to 
se 

IS 

li- 
st 
in 
n- 
3d 


;/ 


AREA  AND  PUt'ULATION  OF   THE   SEVERAL  COLONIES, 
REPUBLICS,  AND  TERRITORIES  IN   SOUTH  AFRICA 


Area 

IN 
SQUARIi: 

M1LK8. 

British. 
Cape   Colony  (including  Wal 

fl«li  Bay) '  277,000 

Basutoland 10,293 

Bechuanalaiid  (Protectorate)..    20o!oOO(?) 

Natal   20,401 

Zululaud 12,500(  >.) 

Tongaland  (British |   2,000(  J) 

Territories    of    Britisli    South 

Africa    (.'ompany.    south    of 

the    Zanihesi    ( Matabililand 

and  Mashonalandl 142.000 

Independent.  \ 

South  African  Republic  (Trans-! 

vaal) 110.139 

Swazihind  (dependent  on  South 

African  Republic) 8,r)00 

Orange  Free  State ;    48,320 

Portuguese  East  Africa I  .S00.000(?) 

Gernmn  Southwest  Africa \  320,000(0 


Poi'UI,.\TI(>N,  1891. 


Ell- 
KOI'EAN. 


.382. 19H 

r)78 

800(? 
40,788 
1,100 
none 


5.00  (0 
(1896) 


24.-),397 

__900(?) 
77,710 

10.000(0 
2,025 
(180(i) 


COLOBED.       TOTAL. 


1,705,900 
219,202 


1.383,702 
218,024 
200,000(0 
497,125  ,-)43,913 

179,270(0'      180,370 
20,000  0' 


unknown 


622,,500(0 

.'55,000(0 
129,787 

3,100,000(0 

2oo,ooo( ;) 


867,897 
207,503 


DATES   OF   SOME  IMPORTANT  EVENTS  IN  THE  HISTORY 

OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 

A.D. 

Bartholomew  Diaz  discovers  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope I486 

Vasco  da  Oama  explores  the  East  Coast  of  Africa  1497-98 

The  Dutch  appear  in  the  South  African  Seas l.")95 

First  Dutch  Settlement  in  Table  Bay ir,,52 

Arrival  of  French  Huguenot  Settlers 1689 

Beginning  of  the  Exploration  of  the  Interior 1700 

First  Kafir  War I779 

First  British  Occupation  of  the  Cape 179o-1803 

Second  British  Occupation  of  the  Cape 1806 

lix 


Ix 


SOME  IMPORTANT  EVENTS 


J , 


I' 


m 


A.D. 

Cession  of  Capo  Colony  to  Britain  1814 

Conquests  of  Tshaka,  the  Zulu  King 1811!-1.'8 

Arrival  of  a  Body  of  British  Settlers IHiiO 

First  British  Settlement  in  Natal 181*4 

English  made  the  Official  Language  in  Cape  Colony 1825-28 

Equal  Rights  Ordinance  in  Favor  of  the  Natives 1828 

Emancipation  of  the  Slaves  1834 

Sixth  Kalir  War 18:{4 

Emigration  of  the  Discontented  Boers  (the  Great  Trek) 1836-:i7 

CoiKjuest  of  Matabililand  by  Mosilikatze 1837 

The  Emigrant  Boer::,  occupy  Natal 1838 

British  Occupation  and  Annexation  of  Natal 1843 

Two  Native  '*  Buffer  States  "  created  in  the  Interior 1843 

Seventh  Kalir  War;  Province  of  British  Kaflfraria  created 1847 

Orange  River  Sovereignty  created   1848 

Recognition  of  the  Independence  of  the  Transvaal  Boers  (Sand 

River  Convention) 1852 

Recognition  of  the  Independence  of  the  Orange  River  Boers 

(Bloemfontein  Convention) 1854 

Representative  Government  established  in  Cape  Colony 1854 

Establishment  of  a  Constitution  for  the   South  African  Re- 
public   1855-58 

Proclamation  of  a  Protectorate  over  Basutoland 18Gb 

Discovery  of  Diamonds  on  the  Lower  Vaal  River 18G9 

British  Occupation  and  Annexation  of  Griqualand  West 1871 

Responsible  Government  granted  to  Cape  Colony 1872 

Delagoa  Bay  Arbitration 1872-75 

British  Annexation  of  the  Transvaal 1877 

War  with  Cetewayo  and  Conquest  of  Zululand 1879 

Retrocession  of  the  Transvaal  1881 

Annexation    of    Southern,  and  Protectorate  over  Northern, 

Beehuanaland  1884-85 

German  Occupation  of  Damaraland 1884 

Convention  of  London  with  the  Transvaal  Republic  1884 

Discovery  of  the  Witwatersrand  Gold-field 1885 

Foundation  of  the  British  South  Africa  Company 1889 

Conquest  of  Matabililand  by  the  Company 1893 

Responsible  Government  granted  to  Natal 1893 

Protectorate  declared  over  the  Tonga  Chiefs  1894 

Rising  at  Johannesburg  and  Expedition  from  Pitsani 1895 


( 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


lb- 


•1^     ir 

'■■i  '■ 

I'm     I 


i!ii 


!,-    !      ' 


ilifl 


LMPRKSSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFKK.A 


Paut  I  — XA'rriiE 


CilAPTEll  I 


PHYSICAL   rKATUllES 

TO  nudcrstand  tlie  luaterinl  rosmirees  and  economic 
conditions  of  Sontli  Africa,  and,  indeed,  to  nnder- 
stand  tlie  iiistory  of  the  country  and  tlie  political  prob- 
lems wliidi  it  now  presents,  one  must  first  know  something 
of  its  physical  structure.     The  subject  may  seem  dry,  and 
those  readers  who  do  not  care  for  it  may  skii)  this  cliapter. 
But  it  need  not  l)e  uninteresting,  and  it  is  certainly  not 
uninstructive.     For  myself,  I  can  say  that  not  oidy  South 
African  history,  ])ut  also  the  i)rospects  of  South  Afi-ican 
industry  and  trade,  were  dark  matters  to  me  till  I  had  i>-ot, 
by  traveling  through  the  country,  an  idea  of  those  natural 
features  of  the  southern  pai-t  of  the  continent  which  have 
so  larg(>ly  governed  the  course  of  events  and  have  stamped 
themselves  so  deeidy  upon  the  hal)its  of  the  people.     Some 
notion  of  these  features  I  must  now  try  to  convey.    Fortu- 
nately, they  ai-e  simple,  for  nature  has  worked  in  Africa, 
as  in  America,  upon  larger  and  ])roader  lines  than  she  has 
done  in  Europe.    The  reader  will  do  well  to  keep  a  map 


K- 


I'^ll 


lu' 


2 


IMPHKSSIONH   OF   HOUTIl   AKUICA 


bc'sido  liim,  jmkI  refer'  constniitly  to  it,  for  dohoriptions 
without  u  ]na[)  avail  little. 

Africa  south  of  the  Zauiliesi  Hiver  oonrists,  speakinj; 
broadly,  of  thi'ee  rej^ions.  There  is  a  strip  of  lowland 
lyinj;  alon^'  the  eoast  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  all  the  way 
round  from  Cape  Town,  past  Durban  and  Dehigoa  Hay 
and  lieiru,  till  vou  reach  the  mouth  of  the  Zambesi.  On 
the  south,  between  Ca^ie  Town  and  Durban,  this  strip  is 
often  very  narrow,  for  in  nuiuy  places  the  hills  eomo,  as 
tliey  do  at  Capo  Town,  rij^ht  down  to  the  sea.  But  beyond 
Dur})an,  as  one  follows  the  eoast  alonp^  to  the  northeast,  the 
level  strip  widens.  At  Delaj^'oa  Day  it  is  some  fifteen  or 
twenty  miles  wide  ;  at  Deira  it  is  sixty  or  ei<rhty  miles  wide, 
so  that  the  hills  behind  cann<»t  be  seen  fnmi  the  eoast;  and 
fartlier  iioi-th  it  is  still  wider.  This  low  strip  is  in  many 
plaees  wet  and  swampy,  and,  beinji'  swam])y,  is  from  Durl)an 
northward  malarious  and  iinhealthful  in  the  hij^hest  de- 
gree. Its  indiealthfulness  is  a  factor  of  })rime  importance 
in  what  may  be  ('ailed  the  g^eneral  scheme  of  the  country, 
and  has  had,  as  we  shall  i)resently  see,  the  most  important 
historical  consequ<.'ncos. 

Behind  thc^  low  (!oast  strip  rise  the  hills  whose  slopes 
constitute  the  second  region.  They  rise  in  most  places 
rather  gradually,  and  they  seldom  (except  in  Manicaland, 
to  be  hereafter  descril)ed)  present  striking  forms.  The 
neighborhood  of  Cape  Town  is  almost  the  only  place  where 
high  mountains  come  close  to  the  shore— the  only  place, 
therefore,  except  the  harbor  of  8t.  John's,  far  to  the  east, 
where  there  is  anything  that  can  be  called  grand  coast 
scenery.    As  one  travels  inland  the  hills  become  constantly 

1  In  particular,  I  will  ask  the  reader  to  refer  to  the  small  maps 
showing  the  physical  features  of  the  country  which  have  been  in- 
serted in  this  volume. 


I'lIVSlCAL    KMATrHKH 


8 


^^ 


maps 
aen  in- 


lii^'lu'V,  till  Mt  11  (listniicc  of  tliirty  or  forty  miles  from  tho 
sou  tliry  liavi'  rnichcd  nii  avcrMj^c  liciji'ht  of  from  ;UK)0  to 
4000  foot,  at  sixtv  mil.'s  from  r)()00  to  (iOOO  tVot.  Those 
hills,  iiitrrsrctcd  l»y  valleys  which  ^n'ow  uarrowei-  aii<l  have 
steeper  sides  the  farther  inland  one  j^oes,  are  the  spurs  or 
outer  declivity  of  a  lon^M'anp'  of  mountains  which  runs 
all  tho  way  from  Cape  Town  to  the  Zamlu'si  Valley,  a  dis- 
tauco  of  sixteen  hundre<l  miles,  and  is  now  usuallv  called 
by  ^eof;rai)hers  (for  it  has  really  no  p'lieral  name)  tho 
Drakensliei-j;'  or  Qualhhnnha  h'anjje.  Their  heijrht  varies 
from  IU)00  to  7000  feet,  some  of  the  hij,diest  lyinj;  n(«t  far  to 
tho  northeast  of  ('ai)e  Town.  In  one  rej,non,  however,  sev- 
eral summits  reach  to  11, 000  feet.  This  is  Basutoland,  the 
country  that  lies  at  tho  ooi-ner  whore  Capo  Colony,  Natal, 
and  tho  Oran^^'  Free  State  moot.  It  is  a  ro^'ion  remarkable 
in  several  respects,  for  its  soonory  as  well  as  for  its  history, 
and  for  the  condition  of  tho  native  race  that  inhabits  i*^, 
and  I  shall  have  to  ^ivo  some  account  of  it  in  u  later  chapter. 
Those  mountains  of  Basutoland  are  tlu;  loftiest  in  Africa 
south  of  Kilinumdjaro,  and  kooj)  snow  on  their  tops  for  sev- 
eral months  in  tho  year. 

Behind  tho  Quathlamba  Kanjjfo  tho  country  spreads  out 
to  the  north  and  west  in  avast  tal)lo-land,  sonu'timos  hat, 
somotinios  undulatinjr,  sometimes  intorsoetod  by  ridj^es  of 
rocky  hills.  This  is  tlio  third  ro^'ion.  Its  average  hoi<ifht 
above  tho  sea  vari(>s  from  .'}000  to  5000  foot,  and  the  liills 
roach  in  places  nearly  GOOO.  Thus  the  Quathlaml)a  Kange 
may  be  rofrardod  as  boinj^  really  tho  odj?e  of  the  table- 
land, and  when  in  traveling  up  from  the  coast  one  roaches 
the  watershed,  or  "divide"  (an  American  term  which 
South  Africans  have  adopted),  one  finds  that  on  the  far- 
ther or  northerly  side  there  is  very  little  descent.  The 
peaks  which  when  seen  from  the  slopes  toward  the  coast 


I 

Hi 

1  >  r 


u  f: 


I  ' 


'1 


n 


4  IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 

looked  liifj^li  and  steep  .ire  on  tliis  inner  side  insijjfnifl- 
cant,  ))ecaiise  they  rise  so  little  above  the  jicneral  level  of 
the  i)lateaii.  This  platean  runs  away  inland  to  the  west 
and  nortliwest,  and  oecni)ies  seven  ei^^hths  of  the  surface 
of  South  Afriea.  It  dips  ^^ently  on  the  north  to  tlie  valley 
of  the  Zambesi ;  but  on  the  west  it  spreads  out  over  the 
Kalahari  Desert  and  the  scarcely  less  arid  wastes  of  Da- 
maraland,  niaintainin^  (except  along  the  h)wer  course  of  the 
Orange  Kiver)  an  altitude  of  fr<ur  3000  to  4000  feet  above 
the  sea,  until  within  a  comparatively  short  distance  of  the 
Atlantic  Ocean. 

The  physical  structure  of  the  country  is  thus  extremely 
simple.  There  is  only  one  considerable  mountain-chain, 
Avith  a  vast  tabh^-land  filling  the  interior  behind  it,  and  a 
rough,  hilly  country  lying  ])etween  the  mountains  and  the 
low  belt  which  l)orders  on  the  Indian  Ocean.  Let  the  reader 
sui)pose  himself  to  be  a  traveler  wishing  to  cross  the  con- 
tinent from  east  to  west.  Starting  from  a  port,  say  Delagoa 
Bay  or  Beira,  on  the  Portuguese  coast,  the  traveler  will  in 
a  few  lioui's,  by  either  of  the  railways  which  run  westward 
from  those  ports,  traverse  the  low  strip  which  divides  them 
from  tlie  hill-<;ountry.  To  ascend  the  valleys  and  cross  the 
watershed  of  tlie  great  Quathlamba  Riinge  on  to  the  plateau 
takes  a  little  longer,  yet  no  great  time.  Then,  once  upon 
the  plateau,  the  traveler  may  proceed  steadily  to  the  west 
for  more  than  a  thousand  miles  over  an  enormous  stretch 
of  high  but  nearly  level  land,  meeting  no  consideralde  emi- 
nence and  crossing  no  perceptible  watershed  till  he  comes 
within  sight  of  the  waves  of  the  Atlantic.  Or  if  he  turns 
to  the  northwest  he  will  i)ass  over  an  undulating  coun- 
try, diversified  only  by  Ioav  hills,  till  he  dips  slowh'  into  the 
fiat  and  swami)y  ground  which  surrounds  Lake  Ngami, 
itself  rather  a  huge  swamp  than  a  lake,  and  descends  very 


u 


PHYSICAL  FEATUKES 


5 


gradually  from  that  level  to  the  banks  of  the  Zambesi,  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  great  Victoria  Falls.  In  fact, 
this  great  plateau  is  South  Africa,  and  all  the  rest  of  tlie 
country  along  the  sea-margin  a  mere  appendage  to  it.  But 
so  large  a  part  of  the  plateau  is,  as  we  shjdl  see  i)res- 
eutly,  condemned  by  its  dryness  to  remain  sterile  and 
very  thinly  peopled,  that  the  interior  has  not  that  pre- 
ponderating importamje  which  its  immense  area  might 
seem  to  give  it. 

It  is  not  worth  while  to  describe  the  minor  ridges,— 
though  some  of  them,  especially  in  Cape  Colony,  are  ab- 
rupt and  high  enougli  to  be  called  mountains,— for  none 
has  any  great  importance  as  affecting  either  material  or 
historical  conditions.  Tlie  h)ngest  an^  tliose  vrhicOi  run 
parallel  to  the  dreary  and  almost  uninh;>l)ited  west  coast, 
and  form  the  terraces  by  which  the  great  })laleau  sinks 
down  to  the  margin  of  the  Atlantic.  Neither  can  I  touch 
on  the  geology,  except  to  observe  that  a  great  i)art  of  the 
plateau,  especially  in  the  nortbern  part  and  toward  tlie 
northeast  end  of  the  Quathlamba  Range,  consists  of  granite 
or  gneiss,  and  is  believed  to  be  of  very  great  {Uiticpiity,  i.  e., 
to  have  stood,  as  it  now  stands,  high  above  the  level  of  tue 
sea  from  a  verv  remote  i)eriod  of  the  earth's  liistorv.  The 
rocks  of  the  Karroo  region  are  more  re(!ent.  Nowhere  in 
South  Africa  has  any  area  of  modern  volcanic  a(^tion,  much 
less  any  active  volcano,  been  discovered.  More  ancient 
eruptive  rocks,  such  as  greenstones  and  j)or})hyi'ies,  are 
of  frequent  occurrence,  and  are  often  spread  out  in  broad, 
level  sheets  above  the  sedimentary  beds  of  the  Karroo  and 
of  the  Basutoland  and  Free  State  ranges. 

Finally,  it  must  be  noted  that  the  coast  has  extremely 
few  harbors.  From  Cape  Town  eastward  and  northeast- 
ward there  is  no  haven  till  one  reaches  that  of  Durban, 
V 


6 


IMPRESSIONS   OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


.1 


i? 


itself  troubled  by  a  bar,  and  from  Durban  to  the  Zambesi 
no  good  ports  save  Dolagoa  Bay  and  Beira.  On  the  other 
side  of  the  continent,  Saldanha  Bay,  twenty  miles  north  of 
Cape  Town,  is  an  excellent  harbor.  After  that  the  Atlan- 
tic coast  shows  none  for  a  thousand  miles. 

So  much  for  the  surface  and  configuration  of  the  country. 
Now  let  us  come  to  the  climate,  which  is  a  not  less  important 
element  in  making  South  Africa  what  it  is. 

The  heat  is,  of  course,  great,  though  less  great  than  a 
traveler  from  North  Africa  or  India  expects  from  the  lati- 
tude. Owing  to  the  vast  mass  of  water  in  the  southern 
hemisphere,  that  hemisphere  is  cooler  in  the  same  latitude 
than  is  the  northern.  Cape  Town,  in  latitude  34°  S.,  has  a 
colder  winter  and  not  so  hot  a  summer  as  Gibraltar  and 
Aleppo',  in  latitude  36°  N.  Still  the  temperature  is  very 
high  even  at  Durban,  in  latitude  30°  S.,  while  the  northern 
part  of  the  Transvaal  Republic,  and  all  the  territories  of 
the  British  South  Africa  Company,  including  Matabililand 
and  Mashonaland,  lie  within  the  tropic  of  Capricorn,  that 
is  to  say,  correspond  in  latitude  to  Nubia  and  the  central 
provinces  of  India  between  Bombay  and  Calcutta. 

The  climate  is  also,  over  most  of  the  country,  extremely 
dry.  Except  in  a  small  district  round  Cape  Town,  at  the 
southern  extremity  of  the  continent,  there  is  no  proper 
summer  and  winter,  but  only  a  dry  season,  the  seven  or 
eight  months  when  the  weather  is  colder,  and  a  wet  season, 
the  four  or  five  months  when  the  sun  is  highest.  Nor  are 
the  rains  that  fall  in  the  wet  season  so  copious  and  con- 
tinuous as  they  are  in  some  other  hot  countries ;  in  many 
parts  of  India,  for  instance,  or  in  the  West  Indies  and 
Brazil.  Thus  even  in  the  regions  where  the  rainfall  is 
heaviest,  reaching  thirty  inches  or  more  in  the  year,  the 
land  soon  dries  up  and  remains  parched  till  the  next  wet 


m\ 


PHYSICAL   FEATURES 


any 
and 
111  is 
tlie 
wet 


season  comes.  The  air  is  therefore  extremely  dry,  and, 
being  dry,  it  is  clear  and  stimulating  in  a  higli  degree. 

Now  let  us  note  the  influence  upon  tlie  cUmate  of  that 
physical  structure  we  have  just  been  considering.  The 
prevailing  wind,  and  the  wind  that  brings  most  of  the 
rain  in  the  wet  season,  is  the  east  or  southeast.  It  gives 
a  fair  supply  of  moisture  to  the  low  coast  strip  which  has 
been  referred  to  above.  Passing  farther  inland,  it  impinges 
upon  the  hills  wliich  run  down  from  the  Quathlamba 
Range,  waters  tlieni,  aiul  falls  in  snow  on  the  loftiest  peaks. 
A  certain  part  of  the  rain-bearing  clouds  passes  still  farther 
inland,  and  scatters  showers  over  the  eastern  part  of  the 
table-land,  that  is  to  say,  over  the  Transvaal,  the  Orange 
Free  State,  eastern  Bechuanaland,  and  the  territories  still 
farther  north  toward  the  Zambesi.  Very  little  hnmiditj', 
however,  reaches  the  tracts  farther  to  the  west.  The  north- 
ern part  of  Cape  Colony  as  far  as  the  Orange  River,  the 
western  part  of  Bechuanaland,  and  the  wide  expanse  of 
Damaraland  have  a  quite  trifling  rainfall,  ranging  from 
four  or  five  to  ten  inches  in  the  whole  year.  Under  the 
intense  heat  of  the  sun  this  moisture  soon  vanishes,  the 
surface  bakes  hard,  and  the  vegetation  withers.  All  this 
region  is  therefore  parched  and  arid,  much  of  it,  in  fact, 
a  desert,  and  likely  always  to  remain  so. 

These  great  and  dominant  physical  facts— a  low  coast 
belt,  a  high  interior  plateau,  a  lofty,  rugged  mountain-range 
running  nearly  parallel  to,  and  not  very  far  from,  the  shore 
of  the  ocean,  wlience  the  rain-clouds  come,  a  strong  sun,  a 
dry  climate— have  determined  the  character  of  South  Africa 
in  many  ways.  They  explain  the  very  remarkal)le  fact  that 
South  Africa  has,  broadly  speaking,  no  rivers.  Rivers  are, 
indeed,  marked  on  th(^  map— rivers  of  great  length  and 
with  many  tributaries ;  but  when  in  traveling  during  the 


a 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


dry  season  yon  come  to  them  you  fiud  eitlier  a  waterless 
bed  or  a  mere  line  of  jy^rcen  and  i)erhaps  unsavory  i)Ools. 
The  streams  that  run  south  and  east  from  the  mountains  to 
the  coast  are  short  and  rapid  torrents  after  a  storm,  but  at 
other  times  dwindle  to  feeble  triekles  of  mud.  In  the 
interior  there  are,  to  be  sure,  rivers  which,  like  the 
Orange  Iliver  or  the  Limpopo,  have  courses  hundreds  of 
miles  in  length.  But  they  contain  so  little  water  dur- 
ing three  fourths  of  the  year  as  to  be  unserviceable  for 
navigation,  wliile  most  of  their  tributaries  shrink  in  the 
dry  season  to  a  line  of  pools,  scarcely  supi)lying  drink 
lo  the  cattle  on  their  banks.  This  is  one  of  the  reasons 
why  the  country  remained  so  long  unexplored.  Peoi)le 
could  not  penetrate  it  by  following  waterways,  as  happened 
botli  in  North  and  in  South  Anu'rica ;  they  were  obliged  to 
travel  by  ox-wagon,  nudving  only  some  twelve;  or  sixteen 
miles  a  day,  and  finding  themselves  obliged  to  halt,  when 
a  good  bit  of  grass  was  reached,  to  rest  and  restore  the 
strength  of  their  cattle.  For  the  same  reason  the  country 
is  now  forced  to  depend  entirely  upon  railways  for  internal 
communication.  There  is  not  a  stream  (except  tidal 
streams)  fit  to  float  anything  drawing  three  feet  of  water. 
It  is  a  curious  experience  to  travel  for  hundreds  of  miles, 
as  one  may  do  in  the  drv  season  in  the  northeastern  part 
of  Cape  Colony  and  in  Bechuanaland,  through  a  country 
which  is  inhabited,  and  covered  in  some  places  with  wood, 
in  others  with  gra-s  or  shrublets  fit  for  cattle,  and  see  not 
a  drop  of  rnnning  water,  and  hardly  even  a  stagnant  pond. 
It  is  scarcely  less  strange  that  such  rivers  as  there  are 
should  be  useless  for  navigation.  But  the  cause  is  to  be 
found  in  the  two  facts  already  stated.  In  those  parts 
where  rain  falls  it  comes  at  one  season,  within  three  or 
four  months.     Moreover,  it  comes  then  in  such  heavy 


m 


PHYSICAL  FEATURES 


0 


storms  that  for  some  hours,  or  even  days,  the  streams  are 
so  swollen  as  to  l)e  not  only  impassable  by  wa^'ons,  but  also 
unnaviy{i])le,  beeause,  altliouj^h  there  is  plenty  of  water, 
the  eurrent  is  too  violent.  Then  when  the  floods  have 
eeased  the  streams  fall  so  fast,  and  the  ehannei  becomes  so 
shallow,  that  hardly  even  a  eaaoe  will  float.  The  other 
fact  arises  from  the  proximity  t  >  the  east  coast  of  the  gT<'at 
Quathlamba  chain  of  mountains.  The  rivers  that  flow  f  i-om 
it  have  mostly  short  courses,  v.-hile  the  few  that  come  down 
from  behind  and  break  through  it,  as  does  the  Limpopo, 
are  interrupted  at  the  place  where  they  break  through  by 
rapids  which  no  boul  can  ascend. 


u 


i  • 


CHAPTER  II 


HEALTH 


m  \\ 


THE  physical  conditions  just  described  determine  the 
healthfuhicss  of  the  country,  and  this  is  a  matter 
of  so  much  moment,  especially  to  those  who  think  of  set- 
tling in  South  Africa,  that  I  take  the  earliest  opportunity 
of  referring  to  it. 

The  sun-heat  would  make  climate  very  trying  to  Euro- 
peans, and  of  course  more  trying  the  farther  north  toward 
the  equator  they  live,  were  it  not  for  the  two  redeeming 
points  I  have  dwelt  on— the  elevation  and  the  dryness  of 
the  interior.  To  be  3000,  4000,  or  5000  feet  above  the  sea 
is  for  most  purposes  the  same  thing  as  being  in  a  more 
temperate  latitude,  and  more  than  five  sixths  in  area  of  the 
districts  which  are  now  inhabited  by  Europeans  have  an 
elevation  of  fully  3000  feet.  Not  merely  the  table-lands 
of  the  Orange  Free  State  and  the  Transvaal,  but  also  by 
far  the  larger  part  of  Cape  Colony  and  nearly  the  whole 
of  Natal  (excluding  a  small  strip  along  the  coast),  attain 
this  elevation.  Thus  even  in  summer,  when  the  heat  is 
great  during  tlie  day,  the  coolness  of  the  night  refreshes 
the  system.  The  practical  test  of  night  temperature  is 
whether  one  wishes  for  a  blanket  to  sleep  under.  In  Madras 
and  Bombay  aU  the  year  round,  in  New  York  through 

10 


ii  I 


HEALTH 


11 


several  months  of  summer,  in  Paris  or  sometimes  even  in 
London  for  a  few  weeks  in  July  or  Aug^ust,  the  li<;litest 
blanket  is  oppressive,  and  the  continuance  of  the  hii;h  (hiy 
temperature  through  the  hours  of  darkness  exhausts  and 
enfeebles  all  but  vigorous  constitutions.  But  in  South 
Africa  it  is  only  along  the  coast,  in  places  like  Durban, 
Delagoa  Bay,  or  Beira,  that  one  feels  inclined  to  disi)ense 
with  a  woolen  covering  at  night,  while  in  Johannesburg  or 
Bloenifontein  a  good  thick  blanket  is  none  too  much  even 
in  November,  before  the  cooling  rains  begin,  or  in  Decem- 
ber, when  the  days  are  longest.  In  fact,  the  fall  of  tem- 
perature at  sunset  is  often  a  source  of  risk  to  tliose  who, 
coming  straight  from  Europe,  ha^'e  not  yet  learned  to  guard 
against  sudden  changes,  for  it  causes  chills  Avhich,  if  they 
find  a  weak  organ  to  pounce  upon,  may  produce  serious 
illness.  These  rapid  variations  of  temperature  are  not  con- 
fined to  the  passage  from  day  to  night.  Sometimes  in  the 
midst  of  a  run  of  the  usual  warm,  l)rilliant  weather  of  the 
dry  season  there  will  come  a  cold,  bitter  southeast  wind, 
co'N'^ering  the  sky  with  gray  clouds  and  driving  the  traveler 
to  put  on  every  wrapping  he  possesses.  I  remember,  to- 
ward the  end  of  October,  such  a  sudden  "cold  s  ap"'  in  Mat- 
abililand,  only  twenty  degrees  from  the  equator.  "We 
shivered  all  day  long  under  a  thick  greatcoat,  and  the  na- 
tives lit  fires  in  front  of  their  huts  and  huddled  round  them 
for  warmth.  Chills  dangerous  to  delicate  people  are  apt  to 
be  produced  by  these  changes,  and  they  often  turn  into 
feverish  attacks,  not  malarial,  though  liable  to  be  con- 
founded with  malarial  fevers.  This  risk  of  encountering 
cold  weather  is  a  concomitant  of  that  power  of  the  south- 
east wind  to  keep  down  the  great  heats,  which,  on  the  whole, 
makes  greatly  for  the  salulu'ity  of  the  country  ;  so  the  gain 
exceeds  the  loss.   But  newcomers  have  to  be  on  their  guard, 


IS 


LMl'IiKSSlUNS  OF   SULTII   AFlilCA 


I    1 


i 


and  travolors  will  do  well,  oven  botweon  the  tropica  and  the 
e(|uat()r,  to  jn'ovidc  tlionist'lvi'S  with  warm  wi'a|>}»iii<>s. 

Sti'onj.1:  as  th(!  sun  is,  its  dir<>ct  rays  seem  to  be  nmcli  less 
dan*»'er()iis  than  in  India  or  the  eastern  United  States.  Sun- 
stroke is  unusual,  and  one  sees  few  peojjle  wearing,  even  in 
the  tropi<'al  noi'th,  those;  hats  of  thick  double  felt  or  those 
sun-lu.dmets  whieh  are  deemed  iiulispensable  in  India.  In 
fact  Euro]  'an,;  «>■()  jibout  with  the  saint;  head-gear  which 
the,,  1  St  an  Enji^lish  summer.  But  tla;  relation  of  sun- 
strol.  !<-  (  !'  late  is  obscure.  Why  shouhl  it  l)e  extrenudy 
rare  ii.  ^  alxfovia,  when  it  is  very  common  in  New  York 
in  the  saine  latitu.le?  Why  should  it  be  almost  unknown 
in  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  within  s(>venteen  degTces  of  the 
equator?  Its  rai-ity  in  South  Africa  is  a  great  point  in 
favor  of  the  healthfulness  of  the  country,  and  filso  of  the 
ease  and  pleasantness  of  life.  In  India  one  has  to  be 
always  mounting  guard  agjunst  the  sun.  He  is  a  formid- 
able and  ever-])i'esent  enemy,  and  he  is  the  more  dangerous 
the  longer  yo  .  live  in  the  country.  In  South  Africa  it  is 
only  because  lie  dries  up  the  soil  so  terribly  that  the  traveler 
wishes  to  have  less  of  him.  The  born  Africander  seems  to 
love  him. 

The  dryness  of  tlie  chmate  makes  very  strongly  for  its 
salubrity.  It  is  the  absence  of  moisture  no  less  than  the 
elevation  above  sea-level  that  gives  to  the  air  its  fresh, 
keen,  bracing  quality,  the  quality  whicli  ena])les  one  to 
support  the  sun-heat,  whicli  keeps  the  i)hysical  frame  in 
vigor,  which  helps  children  to  grow  up  active  and  healthy, 
which  confines  to  comparatively  few  districts  that  dead- 
liest f(»e  of  Europeans,  swamp-fever.  Malarial  fever  in 
one  of  its  many  forms,  some  of  them  intermittent,  others 
remittent,  is  tiie  scourge  of  the  east  coast  as  well  as  of  the 
west  coast.     To  find  some  means  of  avoiding  it  would  be  to 


HEALTH 


18 


[S 
10 


to 


(loublo  tlu'  value  of  Africa  to  tlio  European  ])o\v(Ts  wliieh 
luive  been  cstablisliiiio'  tliemselvcs  on  tlie  coasts.  No  one 
wlio  lives  within  tliirtv  miles  of  tin;  sea  nearlv  all  the  vav 
south  from  Cape  (iuardafui  to  Zululand  can  hope  to  eseapf 
it.  It  is  frecjuent  all  round  the  j;r(>at  Nyanza  lak«'s,  and 
])arti<'ularly  severe  in  the  valley  of  the  Nih'  from  the  lakes 
downward  to  Khartum.  It  prevails  throuj^d)  the  eompar- 
ativelvlovv'  eountrv  which  lies  alonu'  the  ( 'onji-oand  the  chief 
tributaries  of  that  ufreat  sti'cam.  It  han<is  like  a  death-cloud 
over  the  valley  of  the  Zambesi,  and  is  found  uj)  to  a  height 
of  3000  or  4000  feet,  sometimes  even  higher,  in  Xyassaland 
and  the  lower  parts  of  the  Britisli  t  /i^)ries  that  .stret(di 
to  Lake  Tanu'anyika.  The  Administi at  of  ( Jerman  East 
Africa  has  lately  declared  that  tlr  .\  is  j.ut  a  sijuare  mile 
of  that  vast  re^'ion  that  can  be  dt  .i(M,  free  from  it.  Even 
alonjj^  the  j^'enerally  arid  shores  of  L  ^m.iraland  there  are 
spots  where  it  is  to  be  feared.  E  (^  pe  Colony  and  Natal 
and  the  Orang-e  Free  State  are  almost  exem))t  from  it.  So, 
too,  are  all  the  higher  parts  of  the  Transvaal,  of  Bechuana- 
land,  of  Matabililand,  and  of  jMashonaland.  I^mghly 
speakinjj^,  one  may  say  that  the  upper  boundary  line  of 
nudarial  fevers  in  these  countries  is  about  4500  feet  al)ove 
the  sea,  and  where  fevers  occur  at  a  heig'ht  above  15000  feet 
they  are  seldom  of  a  virulent  type.  Thus,  while  the  lower 
parts  of  the  Transvaal  between  the  Quathhunba  Mountains 
and  th(^  sea  are  terribly  unhealthful,  while  the  Portuijcuese 
country  behind  Dela^oa  Bay  and  Beira  as  far  as  the  foot 
of  the  hills  is  equally  dan g-erous,— Beira  itself  has  the  bene- 
fit of  a  strong  sea-l)reez(^,— by  far  the  larger  part  of  the 
recently  occupied  British  territoi'ies  north  and  west  of  the 
Transvaal  is  practically  safe.  It  is,  of  course,  proper  to 
take  certain  precautions,  to  avoid  chills  ami  the  innnoderate 
use  of  aleoliol,  and  it  is  si)ecially  important  to  observe  sueli 


)! 


^r^ 


14 


IMI'KEHHIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFHICA 


J'' 


$   „ 


prcoaniions  during  iind  inimodiatoly  nfter  tlie  wet  soason, 
whciitlicsun  is  raising' vapors  from  tlic  moist  soil,  whcnnew 
vegetation  lias  sprunjj:  up,  and  v/lion  tlic  lonj^  j^^rass  which 
has  jfrovvn  during,'  the  first  rains  is  rottinjj^  under  the  later 
rains.  PhuH's  which  ai't;  ({uitc  healthful  in  the  dry  weather, 
such  as  Gaherones  and  the  rest  of  the  upi)er  valley  of  the 
rivers Notwani  and  Limpo])()in  eastern  Bechuanaland,then 
become  danjjjerous,  because  they  lie  on  the  banks  of  streams 
which  inundate  the  lower  grounds.  Mu(^h  depends  on  the 
local  circumstances  of  each  spot.  To  illustrate  the  differ- 
ences between  one  place  and  another,  I  nuiy  take  the  case 
of  the  three  chief  posts  in  the  territories  of  the  British 
South  Africa  Company.  Bulawayo,  nearly  4000  feet  above 
the  sea,  is  always  practically  f reij  from  malaria,  for  it  stands 
in  a  dry,  breezy  upland  with  few  trees  and  short  grass. 
Fort  Victoria,  3670  feet  above  the  sea,  is  salubrious  enough 
during  the  dry  season,  but  often  feverish  after  the  rains, 
because  there  is  some  wet  ground  near  it.  Fort  Salisbury, 
4900  feet  above  the  sea,  is  now  healthful  at  all  times,  but 
parts  of  it  used  to  be  feverish  at  the  end  of  the  rainy  sea- 
son, until  tlioy  were  drained  in  the  beginning  of  1895.  So 
Pretoria,  the  capital  of  the  Transvaal  Republic,  is  apt  to 
be  malarious  during  the  months  of  rain,  because  (although 
4470  feet  above  the  sea)  it  lies  m  a  well- watered  hollow, 
while  at  Johannesburg,  thirty  miles  off,  on  the  top  of  a 
high,  bare,  stony  ridge,  one  has  no  occasion  to  fear  fever, 
though  the  want  of  water  and  proper  drainage,  as  well  as 
the  quantity  of  fine  dust  from  the  highly  comminuted  ore 
and  "  tailings  "  with  which  the  air  is  filled,  had  until  1896 
given  rise  to  other  maladies,  and  especially  to  septic 
pneumonia.  These  are  diminishing  with  a  better  muni- 
cipal administration,  and  similarly  malaria  will  doubtless 
vanish  from  many  spots  where  it  is  now  rife  when  the 


iiKAi/ni 


16 


swampy  proiiiids  luivo  l)'^eii  drained  and  the  \()\\^  {xrass 
caton  down  l»v  lari^ci*  licivls  of  cattle. 

It  is  apparent ly  tlie  dryness  and  tlie  parity  of  tlio  air 
wliieh  have  ^iven  Sontli  Afriea  its  comparative  irninnnity 
from  most  forms  of  eliest  disease.  iMany  sutTercrs  from 
consumption,  for  whom  a  speedy  deatli,  if  they  remained 
in  Europe,  has  l»een  pi-edieted,  re(!over  lierJlli,  and  retain 
it  till  old  a<i'e.  The  sjxtts  ehietly  recommended  are  on  the 
hi^h  ^n'oundsof  the  interior  plateau,  where  the  atmosphere 
is  least  humid.  Ceres,  ninety-four  miles  hy  rail  from  Cape 
Town,  and  lieaufort  West,  in  the  Karroo,  have  been  re- 
sorted to  as  sanatca'ia;  an<l  Kind)erley,thecity  of  diamonds, 
has  au  ecpmlly  hi«.,'h  reputation  for  the  (puility  of  its  air. 
However,  some  of  the  coast  districts  are  scarcelv  less  eli- 
gible,  tlioujili  (*a])e  Town  has  too  nuiiiy  rapid  chaiijj^es  of 
weather,  and  Duiban  too  sultry  a  summer,  to  make  either 
of  them  a  desirable  place  of  residence  for  invalids. 

Apart  from  all  questions  of  specific  comi)laints,  there  can 
be  no  doubt  as  to  tla?  ji^cneral  effect  of  tlu;  (dinuite  upon 
health.  The  aspect  of  the  peoi)le  soon  convinces  a  visitor 
that,  in  spite  of  its  heat,  tlu;  countiy  is  well  fitted  to  main- 
tain in  vi<;or  u  racic  drawn  from  the  cooler  i)arts  of  Europe. 
Comparatively  few  adult  Enfjflishnu'u  sprung  from  fathers 
tnemselves  l)orn  in  Africa  are  as  yet  to  be  found.  But  the 
descendants  of  the  Dutch  and  Huguenot  settlers  are  Afri- 
canders uj)  to  the  sixth  or  seventh  generation,  and  the  stock 
shows  no  sign  of  losing  either  its  stature  or  its  physical 
strength.  Athletic  sports  are  pursued  as  eagerly  as  in 
England. 


« 


the 


f 


I 


lli 


CHAPTER  TIT 


WILD  ANIMALS  AND  TIIEIU  FATE 


[!,    I 


r, 


v  J 


WPTEN  first  ox])l()i*o(l,  Soiitli  Africa  wns  Tinusuiilly  rioh 
in  the  kinds  l)<)f]i  of  plnnts  and  of  animals  wliidi  it 
containod;  and  nntil  forty  or  fifty  years  a^o  the  nnnibor, 
size,  and  Ix'anty  of  its  wild  creatures  were  tlie  thin<;s  by 
which  it  was  chiefly  known  to  Europeans,  wlio  had  little 
suspicion  of  its  mineral  wealtli,  and  little  foreltodin^ 
of  the  trouble  that  wealth  would  cause.  Why  it  was  so 
rich  in  s])ecies  is  a  question  on  which  geology  will  one 
day  be  able  to  throw  lifj^ht,  for  much  may  depend  on  the 
relations  of  land  and  sea  in  earlier  epo(!hs  of  the  earth's 
history.  I^robably  the  j^reat  diversities  of  elevation  and 
of  climate  which  exist  in  the  southern  part  of  the  con- 
tinent have  contril)uted  to  this  profuse  variety;  and  the 
fact  that  the  country  was  occupied  only  by  savages,  who 
did  little  or  nothing  to  extinguish  any  species  nature  had 
planted,  may  have  caused  many  weak  species  to  survive 
when  equally  weak  ones  were  perishing  in  Asia  and  Europe 
at  the  hands  of  more  advanced  races  of  mankind.  The 
country  was  therefore  the  paradise  of  hunters.  Besides 
the  lion  and  the  leopard,  there  were  many  other  great  cats, 
some  of  remarkable  l)eauty.  Besides  the  elephant,  which 
was  in  some  districts  very  abundant,  there  existed  two 

IG 


WII.l)    ANIMALS   AM)  TIIKIli    TATK 


17 


kinds  of  rliinoccroH,  Jis  vvrll  ns  tlio  liippojiotniuus  imd  the 
f,'initt't'.  TIrti'  was  a  wond'Tful  prol'iisioii  of  aiit('lo|K's,— 
tliii'ty-ono  species  liave  l)een  t'liuuierated,— iiiclu(iiii<r  such 
ii<>l)le  atiiiuals  as  tlie  clatul  and  koodoo,  siicii  Itcautiful  ones 
as  the  sprin^'hok  and  klipsprinycr,  such  licrcc  ones  as  tlie 
})hie  wihU'heest  or  ixun.  Then-  were  two  kinds  of  zeln'a, 
u  (pm^'j^a,  and  a  hutfah)  hoth  liutre  an<l  <lant;crous.  Proli- 
ably  nowliere  in  tlie  worhl  conhl  so  jfi'cat  a  variety  of 
heantifnl  aninnds  be  seen  or  u  hir^''cr  variety  of  forinidalde 
ones  be  pursued. 

All  this  has  chanji'cd,  and  chanj;ed  of  late  years  with 
fatal  speed,  under  the  increasing-  i'an<;e  and  accuracy  of 
lirearnis,  the  increasing'  accessiliility  of  the  country  to  th«! 
Kuroi)ean  sportsman,  and  the  increasin^Miund»er  of  natives 
who  possess  <;uns.  The  Dutch  lioer  of  sixty  years  ap) 
was  a  p)od  inarksnuin  and  h)ved  the  chase,  but  he  did  not 
shoot  tor  fame  and  iii  order  to  write  about  his  exploits, 
while  the  i>rofessional  hunter  who  shot  to  sell  ivory  or  i*are 
specimens  had  hardly  bci^un  to  exist.  The  work  of  de- 
struction has  latterly  jj^ono  on  so  fast  that  the  etfeet  of 
statini?  what  is  still  left  can  hardly  l)e  to  tempt  others  to 
join  in  that  work,  but  may  hel  >  to  show  how  urgent  is  the 
duty  of  arresting'  the  process  of  extermination. 

When  the  first  Dutchmen  settled  at  the  ('ai)e  the  lion 
was  so  common  as  to  be  one  of  the  every-day  perils  of  life. 
Tradition  points  out  a  spot  in  the  pleasure-jjfround  attached 
to  the  Houses  of  Parliament  at  Cape  Town  where  a  lion  was 
found  prowling  in  what  was  then  tli(i  (jommandant's  ^tw- 
den.  In  1G53  it  was  feared  that  lions  would  storm  the 
fort  to  gret  at  the  sheep  within  it,  and  so  late  as  101)4  they 
killed  nine  cows  within  si^ht  of  the  present  castle.  To- 
day, however,  if  the  lion  is  to  be  found  at  all  within  the 
limits  of  Cape  Colony,  it  is  only  in  the  wildci'nrss  along 


18 


IMPRESSIONS   OF   SOUTH  AFi.lICA 


^) 


,  I 


the  banks  of  the  Oranjjo  "River.  He  was  ahuudant  in  the 
Oranjj^e  Free  State  when  it  became  independent  in  1854,  but 
has  been  h)n_2f  extinct  there.  He  survives  in  a  few  spots  in 
the  north  of  the  Transvaal  and  in  tlie  wihier  parts  of  Zulii- 
hmd  and  Beelinanahmd,  and  is  not  unfrequent  in  Matabili- 
land  and  Mashonaland.  One  may,  however,  pass  throujjfh 
those  countries,  as  I  did  in  October,  1895,  witliout  havincj 
a  chance  of  seeing  the  beast  or  even  hearinj^  its  nocturnal 
voice,  .and  those  who  q;o  hunting  this  grandest  of  all  quarries 
ar(;  often  disai)})ointed.  In  the  strip  of  flat  land  between  the 
mountains  and  the  Indian  Ocean  behind  Sofala  and  Beira, 
and  in  the  Zambesi  Valley,  there  remain  lions  enough ;  but 
the  number  diminishes  so  fast  that  even  in  that  malarious 
and  thinly  i)eopled  hind  none  may  be  left  thirty  years  hence. 

The  leopard  is  still  to  be  found  all  over  the  country,  ex- 
cept where  tlie  population  is  thickest,  and  as  the  leopard 
haunts  rocky  places,  it  is,  though  much  hunted  for  the  sake 
of  its  beautiful  skin,  less  likely  to  be  exterminated.  Some 
of  the  smaller  carnivora,  especially  the  pretty  lynxes,  have 
now  becomi'  very  rare.  There  is,  however,  a  pretty  good 
supply  of  hyenas. 

Elephants  used  to  roam  in  great  herds  over  all  the  more 
woody  districts,  but  have  now  been  quite  driven  out  of 
Cape  Colony,  Natal,  and  the  two  Dutch  republics,  save  that 
in  a  narrow  strip  of  forest  country  near  the  south  coast, 
between  Mossel  Bay  and  Algoa  Bay,  some  herds  are  pre- 
served by  the  Cape  government.  So,  too,  in  the  north  of 
the  Transvaal  there  are  still  a  few  left,  also  specially  pre- 
served. It  is  only  on  the  east  coast  south  of  the  Zambesi, 
and  here  and  there  along  that  river,  that  the  wild  elephant 
can  now  be  found.  From  these  regions  he  will  soon  vanish, 
and  unless  something  is  done  to  stop  the  hunting  of  ele- 
phants the  total  extinction  of  the  animal  in  Africa  may  be 


;(,'( 


il 


WILD  ANIMALS  AND   THEIR  FATE 


It) 


expected  witliin  another  lialf-eeiitnry ;  for  tlie  foolish  pas- 
sion for  shuitj^hter  whicli  sends  so-caHed  sportsmen  on  liis 
traek,  and  the  liigh  pi-ice  of  ivory,  are  lessening-  liis  nninhers 
dav  by  dav.  A  siniihir  fate  awaits  the  rhinoceros,  once 
common  even  near  tlie  Cape,  where  he  overturned  one 
day  the  coacli  of  a  Dutch  ii'overnor.  The  wliite  kind, 
whicli  is  the  larj^vr,  is  now  all  but  extinct,  while  the 
black  rhinoceros  has  become  S(*arce  even  in  the  northern 
re^'ions  between  the  Linipo])o  and  the  Zaml)esi.  The 
hippopotamus,  protected  by  his  aquatic  habits,  has  fared 
better,  and  may  still  be  seen  i)lungini>'  and  splashing  in 
the  waters  of  the  Pungwe,  the  Limpopo,  and  other  rivers  in 
Portuguese  East  Africa.  But  Xatal  will  soon  know  this 
great  amphibian  no  more,  and  within  Ca])e  Coh)ny,  where 
the  creature  was  once  abuiulant  even  in  the  swamps  that 
bordered  Table  Bay,  he  is  now  to  be  found  only  in  the  pools 
along  the  lower  course  of  the  Orange  River.  The  crocodile 
holds  his  ground  better  and  is  still  a  serious  danger  to  oxen 
who  go  down  to  drink  at  the  streams.  In  Zululand  and 
all  along  th<!  east  coast,  as  well  as  in  the  streams  of  Ma- 
shonaland  and  Matabililaiul,  there  is  hardly  a  pool  which 
does  not  contain  some  of  these  formidable  saurians.  Even 
wjien  the  water  shriidvs  in  the  drv  season  till  little  but 
mud  seems  to  be  left,  the  crocodile,  getting  d(^ep  into  the 
mud,  maintains  a  torpid  life  till  the  rains  ])ring  him  back 
into  activity.  I  was  told  that  Lo  Bengula  sometimes  cast 
those  who  liad  displeased  him,  bound  hand  and  foot,  into 
a  river  to  be  devouri^d  l.)y  these  monstei's,  whi(;h  he  did  not 
permit  to  be  destroyed,  regarding  them  as  totems  of  the 
]\[atabili,  or  perhaps  of  the  Makalaka. 

The  giratfe  has  become  very  scarce,  though  a  herd  or 
two  are  hift  in  the  south  of  Matabililand,  and  a  larger 
number  in  the  Kalahari  Desert.     So,  also,  the  zebra  and 


20 


IMP1?ESSI0NS   OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


^ 


i\ 


1 


many  of  the  sx)OC'i<\s  of  antelopes,  especially  the  larger  kinds, 
like  tlie  eland  and  the  sable,  are  disappearin*'-,  while  the 
bnffalo  is  now  only  to  l»e  seen  (I'xcept  in  apart  of  the  Colony 
where  a  herd  is  preserved)  in  the  P(n'tn<;'uese  territories 
alonji^  the  Zandjesi  and  the  east  eoast.  The  recent  cattle- 
i)la<''ue  has  fallen  heavily  upon  him.  So  the  ostrich  wonld 
prol)al)ly  now  remain  only  in  the  wilds  of  the  Kalahari  had 
not  lai'ji^e  farms  ]>een  created  in  Cape  Colony,  where  the 
animal  is  kept  inclosed  for  the  sake  of  its  feathers.  On 
these  farms,  especially  near  Graham's  Town  and  iu  the 
Oudtshorn  district,  one  may  see  li'reat  nnmbers;  nor  is 
there  a  i)rettier  si«iht  than  that  of  two  parent  birds  rnnning 
along,  with  a  nnmerons  progeny  of  little  ones  behind  them. 
Though  in  a  sense  domesticated,  they  are  often  dangerous, 
for  they  kick  forwju'd  with  great  violence,  and  the  person 
whom  they  knock  down  and  begin  to  trample  on  has  little 
chance  of  escape  with  his  life.  Fortunately,  it  is  easy  to 
drive  them  oft'  with  a  stick  or  even  an  umbrella ;  and  we 
were  wai-ned  not  to  cross  an  ostrich-farm  without  some 
such  defense. 

Snakes,  though  there  are  many  venomous  species,  seem 
to  be  less  feared  than  in  India  or  the  wilder  parts  of 
Australia.  The  jjython  grows  to  twenty  feet  or  more, 
but  is,  of  course,  not  i)oisonous,  and  never  assails  man 
unless  fii'st  molested.  The  black  nwmha,  which  is  iiearlv 
as  large  as  a  rattlesnake,  is,  however,  a  dangerous  creature, 
being  ready  to  attack  man  without  provocation,  and  the 
bite  is  fatal  in  less  than  .an  hour.  One  sees  many  skins  of 
this  snake  in  the  ti-ot)icai  i)arts  of  South  Africa,  and  hears 
numy  thrilling  tales  of  combats  with  them.  They  are  no 
longer  comnum  in  the  mcn-e  settled  and  temnerate  regions. 

Although  even  in  Cai)e  Colony  and  the  Dutch  repub- 
lics there  is  still  more  four-footed  game  to  be  had  than 


i 


■'liU' 


di 


WIL.T  ANIMALS  AND  TllEIli   FATE 


II 


anywhere  in  Europe,  there  reniain  only  two  re<2:ions 
where  hir<''e  -iniinals  ean  Kc  killed  in  any  considerable 
numbers.  One  of  these  is  the  Portuu'uese  territory  be- 
tween  Dela<;oa  Bay  and  the  Zambesi,  toji'ether  with  the 
adjoinin<j:  ]»arts  of  the  Transyaal,  where  the  h)Wer  spui's 
of  the  Quathhunba  Kan<2:e  descend  to  the  plain.  Tliis  dis- 
trict is  yery  malai'ious  durin<r  and  after  the  rains,  and  most 
of  it  uidiealthful  at  all  seasons.  The  other  region  is  the 
Kalahari  Desert  and  the  country  north  of  it  between  Lake 
Ngami  and  the  UpiM'r  Zambesi.  The  Kalahari  is  so  water- 
less as  to olfer considerable  difficulties  to  European  hunter.s, 
and  the  c(nintry  rcmnd  Lake  Xu^anu  is  swampy  and  feyerish. 
So  far  the  wild  creatures  haye  nature  in  their  fayoi* ;  yet 
the  passion  for  killin<4'  is  in  nuiny  jx'rsons  so  stroii<i-  that 
neither  thirst  nor  feyer  dettu's  them,  and  if  the  lai'<i'e  «i'ame 
are  to  be  saved,  it  will  eh'arly  be  necessary  to  place  them 
under  legal  protection.  This  has  been  attempted  so  far  as 
regards  the  elephant,  rhinoceros,  g'iratfe,  and  eland.  In 
German  East  Africa  Dr.  von  Wissmann,  the  Administrator 
of  that  territory,  has  recently  (189G)  gone  further,  and  or- 
dained restricti(ms  on  the  shuigliter  of  all  the  lai-ger  ani- 
mals, except  i)redatory  ones.  The  goyernments  of  the  two 
British  colonics  and  the  two  Boer  republie's,  which  haye 
already  done  well  in  trj-ing  to  preserye  some  of  the  rarest 
and  finest  beasts,  ought  to  go  thoroughly  into  the  question 
and  enact  a  complete  protective  code.  Still  more  neces- 
sary is  it  that  a  similar  course  should  l)e  taken  by  the  l^rit- 
ish  South  Africa  Company  and  by  the  Imperial  Govern- 
ment, in  whose  territories  there  still  survive  more  of  the 
great  beasts.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  even  the  lion  .  iid 
some  of  the  rare  lynxes  will  ultinuitely  receive  considera- 
tion. Noxious  as  they  are,  it  would  be  a  pity  to  see  them 
wholly  externnnated.     When  I  was  in  India,  in  the  year 


22 


IMPRESSIONS   OF   SOUTH   At'KICA 


ll 


1888,  I  was  told  that  there  were  onlj'-  seven  lioah  t])en  left 
in  that  vast  area,  all  of  them  well  eared  ^or.  The  v/ork  of 
slaugliter  ought  to  be  checked  in  South  Africa  befoi-e  the 
number  <^ets  quite  so  low  as  this,  and  though  there  may 
be  difficulties  in  restraining  the  natives  from  killing  the 
big  game,  it  must  be  remembered  that  as  regards  many 
animals  it  is  the  Euroj)ean,  rather  than  the  native,  who  is 
the  chief  agent  of  destruction. 

The  predatory  animals  which  are  now  most  harmful  to 
the  farmer  are  the  baboons,  which  infest  rocky  distri(;ts  and 
kill  the  lambs  in  such  great  numbers  that  the  Cape  govern- 
ment offers  bounties  for  their  slaughter.  But  no  large  ani- 
mal does  mischief  for  a  moment  comparable  to  that  of  the 
two  insect  plagues  which  vex  the  eastern  half  of  the  coun- 
try, the  white  ants  and  the  locusts.  Of  these  I  shall  have 
something  to  say  later. 


]i  i 


CHAPTER  IV 


VEGETATION 


THE  flora  of  Sontli  Africa  is  extremely  ricli,  showing  a 
number  of  genera  and  of  species  which,  in  proportion 
':o  its  area,  exceeds  the  number  found  in  most  other  parts 
of  the  world.  But  whether  this  wealth  is  due  to  the  diversity 
of  physical  conditions  which  the  country  pre,>ents,  or  rather 
to  geological  causes,  that  is,  to  the  fact  that  there  may  at 
some  remote  period  have  been  land  connections  with  ot'  er 
regions  which  hove  facilitated  the  immigration  of  plants 
from  various  sides,  is  a  matter  on  which  science  cannot  yet 
pronounce,  for  both  the  geology  and  the  flora  of  the  whole 
African  continent  have  been  very  imperfectly  exainircd. 
It  is,  however,  worth  remarking  that  there  are  r-vjrked 
affinities  between  the  general  character  of  the  flora  of  the 
southwestern  corner  of  South  Africa  nnd  that  of  the  liora 
of  southwestern  Australia,  and  simi'  v  affinities  between 
the  flora  of  southeastern  and  tropic;,  i  Africa  and  the  floi-a 
of  India,  while  the  relations  to  South  America  are  fewer 
and  much  less  marked.  This  fact  would  seem  to  point  to 
the  great  antiquity  of  the  South  Vtlantic  Ocean. 

To  give  even  the  scantiest  account,  however,  of  the 
plants  of  South  Africa  would  obviously  be  impossible. 
All  I  propose  is  to  convey  some  slight  impression  of  the 

23 


I 
I 


U 


;f 


24 


IMfRKSSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFKICA 


n 


f'' 


1 1  h 


'I 


1'       i 


V  4  r 


m 


''I 


I '   ' 


part  wliicli  its  vogot.itioii,  and  ))nrti(*iilnrly  its  trees,  play 
ill  tlic  liiiHlscaix'  iuid  in  the  (Mioiiomic  coiiditioiis  of  the 
coiiiitrv.  Even  this  I  can  do  very  inipert'e(;tly,  because, 
like  most  travelers,  I  passed  tliron^-h  lar^e  i)arts  of  tlie 
eonntrv  in  the  di'v  season,  when  three  fourths  (^f  the  her- 
baeeous  })laiits  are  out  of  tlovver. 

No  pnrt  of  tlie  country  is  rielier  ir  beautiful  flowers  than 
the  inuiiediate  lu  i^i'liborhood  of  Cape  Town.  This  extreme 
soutliwestern  corner  of  Africa  has  a  climate  of  tlie  south 
tem})erate  zone  ;  that  is  to  say,  it  has  a  real  summer  a^nl  a 
real  winter,  and  j^ets  most  of  its  rain  in  winter,  whereo  ;  the 
rest  of  South  Africa  has  oiilv  a  wet  season  and  a  drv  sea- 
son,  the  hitt<'r  coming'  in  winter.  So,  too,  this  corner  round 
Cajie  Town  has  a  ve^-etation  characteristically  its  own,  and 
differinii"  markedly  from  that  of  the  arid  Karroo  recj^ions  to 
the  north,  Jind  that  of  the  warm  subtropical  regions  in  the 
east  of  the  Colony  and  in  Natal.  It  is  here  that  the  plants 
flourish  Avhicli  Europeans  and  Americans  first  came  to  know 
and  which  are  still  to  liieni  the  most  familiar  examples  of 
the  South  African  flora.  Heaths,  for  instance,  of  which 
there  are  said  to  be  no  less  than  three  hundred  and  fifty  spe- 
cies in  this  small  district,  some  of  extraordinary  beauty  and 
brilliance,  are  scarcely  found  outside  of  it.  I  saw  two  or 
three  spe(;ies  on  the  high  peaks  of  Basutoland,  and  believe 
some  o(!cur  as  far  north  as  tlie  tropic  on  the  tops  of  the 
Quatlilaml)a  Range ;  but  in  the  lower  grounds,  and  even 
on  the  plateau  of  the  Karroo,  they  are  absent.  The  general 
ijspeet  of  ^he  vegetation  on  the  Karroo,  and  eastward  over 
t'.H  nlateau  into  Bechuanaland  and  the  Transvaal,  is  to  the 
trawler's  eye  monotonous,  a  fact  due  to  the  general  uni- 
iormity  of  the  geological  formations  and  the  general  dry- 
i»»^ss  of  the  surface.  In  Natal  and  in  Mashonaland  types 
different  from  those  of  either  the  Cape  or  the  Karroo  ap- 


i 
ifiir 


VEGETATION 


25 


pear,  and  T  liave  never  seen  a  more  beautiful  aiul  varied 
alpine  flora  than  on  n  lofty  summit  of  Basutoland  whieh  I 
aseended  on  November  2;{.  But  even  in  Mashonaland,  and 
in  Matabililand  still  nu)re,  the  herbaceous  plants  make,  at 
least  in  the  dry  seascm,  eomj)aratively  little  show,  I  found 
the  number  of  (Mnispieuous  sj)e('ies  less  than  I  had  expected, 
and  the  diversity  of  types  from  the  types  that  prevail  in 
the  southern  part  of  the  })lateau  (in  Bechuaiuda".'l  and  the 
Oranr^e  Free  State)  less  marked.  This  is  uoul)tless  due  to 
the  general  similarity  of  the  conditions  that  prevail  over 
the  plateau.  l<]verywhere  the  same  hot  days  and  cold 
nijjhts,  everywhere  the  same  dryness. 

However,  I  must  avoid  details,  es])ecially  details  which 
would  be  interesting  only  to  a  botanist,  and  ))e  content 
with  a  few  words  on  those  more  conspicuous  features  of  the 
vegetation  which  the  traveler  notes,  and  which  go  tonuike 
up  his  general  iinpr<'ssion  of  the  country. 

Speaking  broadly.  South  Africa  is  a  bare  country,  and  this 
is  the  more  remarkable  because  it  is  anew  counti'v,  wli(M*e 
man  has  not  had  time  to  work  much  desti'uction.  There  are 
ancient  forests  along  the  south  coast  of  Cape  (S)lony  and 
Natal,  the  best  of  which  are  (in  the  former  colony)  now  care- 
fully preserved  and  adnunistered  by  a  Forest  Department 
of  Government.  Such  is  the  great  Knysna  forest,  where 
elephants  still  roam  "wald.  But  even  in  these  forests  few 
trees  exceed  fifty  or  sixty  feet  in  height,  tlie  tallest  being 
the  so-called  yellow-wood,  and  the  most  useful  the  sneeze- 
wood.  On  the  slopes  of  the  hills  above  Cfraham's  Town 
and  King  William's  Town  one  finds  (besides  r(>al  forests 
here  and  there)  immense  masses  of  dense  scrub,  or  "  ])usli," 
usually  from  four  to  eight  feet  in  height,  sometimes  with 
patches  of  the  pri(!kly-pear,  an  invader  from  America, 
and  a  formidable  one ;  for  its  spines  hurt  the  cattle  and 


26 


IMPKKSSKJNS  OF   SOUTH   AFKICA 


make  passage  by  men  a  troublesome  business.  It  was  this 
dense,  low  serul)  wliich  (constituted  the  jjjreat  dinieulty  of 
British  troops  in  the  fierce  and  protracted  Kalir  wars  of 
fifty  years  ag'o ;  for  the  ground  whicli  the  scrub  covers 
was  imi)assable  excejjt  by  nai'i'ow  and  tortuous  paths 
known  only  to  the  natives,  and  it  afforded  them  adnurable 
})laces  for  anil)ush  and  for  retreat.  Novvachiys  a  large  part 
of  the  bush-covered  hind  is  used  for  ostrich-farms,  and  it 
is,  indeed,  fit  for  little  else.  The  scrub  is  nu)stly  dry,  while 
the  larger  f  oi'csts  are  comparatively  dam}),  and  often  beauti- 
ful with  floweriug  trees,  small  tree-ferns,  and  flexile  clind)- 
ers.  But  the  trees  are  not  lofty  enough  to  give  any  of  that 
dignity  which  a  Eui'opean  forest,  say  in  England  or  Ger- 
many or  Norway,  often  possesses,  and  as  the  native  kinds 
are  mostly  evergreens,  their  heaves  have  comparatively 
little  variety  of  tint.  One  of  the  most  graceful  is  the  curi- 
ous silver-tree,  so  called  from  the  whitish  sheen  of  one  side 
of  its  leaves,  which  grows  abundantly  on  the  slopes  of  Table 
Mountain,  l)ut  is  found  hardly  anywhere  else  in  the  Colony. 
If  this  is  the  character  of  the  woods  within  reach  of  the 
coast  rains,  nnich  more  conspicuous  is  the  want  of  trees  and 
the  poorness  of  those  scattered  hei'c  and  there  on  the  great 
interior  plateau.  In  the  desert  regi«  m ,  that  is  to  say,  the  Kar- 
roo, the  northern  part  of  Cape  Colony  to  the  Orange  River, 
western  Bechuanaland,  and  Lhe  Gernum  territories  of  Na- 
maqualand  and  Damaraland,  there  are  hardly  any  trees, 
except  small,  thorny  mimosas  (they  are  really  acacias,  the 
commonest  he'in^  Acacia  Jw)'ri<la),w\miie  scanty,  light-green 
foliage  casts  little  sliade.  On  the  higher  mountains,  where 
there  is  a  little  more  moisture,  a  few  other  shrubs  or  small 
trees  maj''  be  found,  and  sometimes  beside  a  watercourse, 
where  a  stream  runs  duriuir  the  rains,  the  eve  is  refreshed 
by  a  few  slender  willows ;  ])ut  speaking  generally,  this  huge 
desert,  one  third  of  Stmth  Africa,  contains  nothing  but 


Vi:(iETATION 


27 


iiige 
but 


low  bnslies,  few  of  wliidi  are  lit  even  for  fueT.  Farther 
east,  wliere  the  r;iiiifall  is  heavier,  the  trees,  tliou^li  still 
snuill,  are  more  freijuent  and  less  thorny.  Parts  oi'  the 
^reat  jilaiii  round  Kiniherley  were  toleraldy  well  woodrd 
thirty  years  a«r(>,  luit  the  trees  have  all  l)een  cut  down  to 
nud<e  mine  pro})S  or  for  fire-wood.  North  of  Mafekin<j^  the 
rolling'  Hats  and  low  liills  of  Bechnanaland  are  pretty 
fairly  wooded,  and  so  to  a  less  de^-ree  are  tlu;  adjoinint^ 
l)arts  of  the  Tran.syaal  and  Matal)ilil!ind.  Tlie  road  jjfoin^ 
north  from  Mafi'kini;'  ])asses  tlirou.i;h  sojne  three  hundred 
nules  of  sueli  woodhuuls,  l)ut  a  less  l)eautifulor  interesting' 
woodland  I  have  never  sfvn.  The  trees  are  mostly  the 
thorny  mimosas  I  have  Uientiont'd.     None  exeeeds  thirty, 

*  ft    ' 

few  reaeh  twentv-five,  feet.  Tliouuh  thev  •••row  loosely 
sciili^ered,  the  spaec;  between  tliem  is  either  bare  or  oeenpied 
by  low  and  very  ju-iekly  bushes.  The  jj^round  is  parehed, 
and  one  can  get  no  shade,  except  by  standing  close  under 
a  trunk  somewlnit  thictker  than  its  neighl)ors.  Still 
fartlie"  north  the  timber  is  hardly  larger,  though  the 
general  aspectt  of  the  woods  is  improved  by  the  more  fre- 
quent occurrence  of  flowering  trees,  some  sweet-scented, 
with  glossy  leaves  and  small  white  flowers,  some  with 
gorgeous  (dusters  of  blossoms.  Three  are  particularly 
handsome.  One,  usually  called  the  Kafir-boom,  has  large 
flowers  of  a  brilliant  crimson.  Another  {LoncJiovarjms 
sjx'ciosKs  ^),  for  which  no  English  name  seems  to  exist, 
shows  lovely  pendulous  flowers  of  a  bluish  lilac,  resem- 
bling in  color  those  of  the  wistaria.     The  third  is  an  ar- 

1  I  owe  these  njiiues  to  tlie  kiii'lness  of  the  tiutlioi-ities  at  the  Royiil 
Gardens  at  Kew,  wiio  have  been  gnod  enoiif^h  to  h)()k  tlirouf^h  lifty-t'our 
dried  specimens  which  I  collected  an(i  ])r('S('rved  as  well  as  I  couM 
while  traveling  through  Mashonalaiul  and  Basutoland.  Eleven  of 
these  lifty-four  were  pronoiniccd  to  be  species  new  to  science,  a  fact 
which  shows  how  much  remains  to  be  done  in  the  way  of  botanical 
exploration. 


! 


as 


IMTUKSSrONS  OF   SOl'TII   AFKU'A 


A 


boriKM'ous  SL-lolm's-worl  {Ih/pi ririini  tSc/iitnimi),  which 
I  t'oiiiKl  ^rowiiii;  ill  a  v.'illcy  of  MimicnhMid,  at  a  licifj^lit  of 
ijcai'ly  4000  feet  abovo  the  sea.  All  llii'cc  would  lu'  ^rcat 
oniaiiiciits  to  a  I'jUI'ojm'mii  shni1»l)('i'y  (mxiM  they  he  iiiduct'd 
tohcai'thccliniali',  which,  in  the  case  of  the  two  hitter  (for  I 
liardly  think  the  Kalh'-lxKnn  wouhl  suit  a  colder  ail-),  seems 
not  inii»ossil>l('.  Jn  Manicaland,  anion^"  the  mountains 
which  form  the  eastern  edu'e  of  tile  plateau,  the  trees  are 
taller,  handsoniei-,  and  more  tro[»ical  in  their  character, 
and  palms,  thoii<i,h  of  no  <;Teat  hei^'ht,  are  sometimes 
seen.  Hut  not  even  in  the  most  humid  of  the  valleys  and 
on  the  lower  simrs  of  the  ranji'c,  where  it  sinks  into  the 
coast  jdain,  nor  alon^"  the  swampy  banks  of  tli(^  Punjjfwe 
River,  did  I  see  any  tree  more  than  sixty  feet  hi^di,  and 
few  more  than  thirty.'  Neither  was  there  any  of  that  lux- 
uriant iindcr^rowth  which  makes  some  tro[)ical  forests, 
like  those  at  the  foot  of  the  Nil<^hiri  Hills  in  India,  or  in 
some  of  the  isles  of  the  Paeilic  so  impressive  as  evidences 
of  the  power  and  ceaseless  a(;tivity  of  nature. 

The  poverty  of  the  woods  in  Bechuanaland  and  i\ratabili- 
land  seems  to  be  due  not  merely  to  the  dryness  of  the  soil 
and  to  the  thin  anil  san<ly  character  which  so  often  marks 
it,  but  also  to  the  constant  ^rass-fires.  The  i^Tass  is  gener- 
ally short,  so  that  these  fires  do  not  kill  the  trees;  noi' 
does  one  hear  of  such  g^reat  forest  confla<jrations  as  are 
frequent  and  ruinous  in  western  America  and  by  no  means 
unknown  in  the  south  of  Cape  Colony.  But  these  fires 
doubtless  injure  the  younger  trees  sufiiciently  to  stunt  their 
growth,  and  this  mischief  is,  of  course,  all  the  fi'reater  when 
an  exceptionally  dry  year  occurs.  In  such  years  the  jjrass- 
fires,  then  most  frecjuent,  may  destroy  the  promise  of  the 
wood  over  a  vast  area. 

1  There  are  teak  forests  in  the  lower  part  of  N.  W.  Matabilihiud, 
towards  the  Zambesi. 


/ 1 
i 


VEGETATION 


90 


Tlic  wiiiit  (»f  foi'csts  ill  Soiitli  Afiica  isono  of  tho  jjivntost 
niisl'orl Miles  of  tli<  f'oiintry,  lor  it  iiinkcs  tiiiilu'r  costly;  it 
liclps  to  rrdiK'c  tlio  rainfall,  ami  it  au'n'i'avalrs  the  ti'iidciicy 
of  tlic  lain,  when  it  coiiu's,  to  run  (»lf  rapidly  in  a  sadden 
fi'esliet.  {''orests  liave  a  powei'fnl  inlluence  npon  eliniato 
in  li<»ldinu'  nioistni'e,'  and  not  only  moisture,  hut  soil  also. 
In  South  Africa  the  violent  rain-storms  sweep  away  tho 
surface  of  the  n-j-ound,  and  prevent  the  de[)osition  of  ve^^e- 
lalile  mold.  Nothin*;  retains  that  mold  or  the  soil  formed 
hy  decomposed  rock  s(t  well  as  a  covering-  of  wood  and 
the  herhaufe  which  the  neinhhorhood  of  comparatively 
moist  woodland  lu-lps  to  sup})Oi"t.  It  is  much  to  he  desired 
that  in  all  j)artsof  the  country  where  ti-eeswili  j^-row  trees 
should  1)0  planted,  and  that  those  Avhich  remain  should  be 
protected.  Unfortunately,  most  of  tho  South  .\fricaii  trees 
^-row  slowly,  so  whore  plantiniy'  has  boon  attempted  it  is 
chiefly  foreiu'ii  sorts  that  aro  tried.  Amonii,'  thes(!  the  finst 
place  lielonn's  to  the  Australian  ^'ums,  hecauso  they  shoot 
U[»  faster  than  any  others.  One  fiiuls  them  uowovorywhoro, 
mostly  in  rows  or  fj:roups  round  a  house  or  a  hanilot,  but 
sometimes  also  in  reyular  }»lantatioii.>.  They  have  becouio 
a  cons])icuous  feature  in  the  landscape  of  tho  voldt  phitoaii, 
especially  in  those  places  where  there  was  no  wood,  or  the 
litth;  that  exi.sted  has  boon  destroyed.  Kimberley,  for  in- 
stance, and  Pretoria  are  be^-inninii'  to  be  embowered  in 
proves  of  eucalyptus ;  Bulawayo  is  followin*^'  suit;  and 
all  over  3Iatabililand  and  jMashonaland  one  discovers  in  the 


r-l 


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tlioir 

rhon 

ass- 

tlie 


lUiud, 


'  It  has  hoon  plausiljly  siijjgestcd  tliaf  one  reason  why  many  Eiif^lish 
rivers  which  were  iiavi<,Mblt'  in  tlie  tcntli  century  (because  we  know 
tluit  the  Nortlinien  traversed  them  in  vessels  wliicli  luul  crossed  tlie 
Gorman  Ocean)  Imt  are  now  too  sluiUow  to  let  a  rowhoat  pass  is  to  be 
found  in  tlie  destruction  of  tho  forests  and  tho  draining  of  the  marshes 
which  the  forests  shelter. 


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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

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30 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


■■  1 

■( 

^' 

il 

(listaneo  tlio  site  of  a  farmstoading  or  a  store  by  the  waving 
tops  of  tlio  gnin-troes.  If  tliis  goes  on  these  Australian 
iniinigrants  will  sensibly  affeet  the  aspect  of  the  country, 
just  as  already  they  have  affected  that  of  the  Riviera  in 
southi^'istern  France,  of  the  C'ampagna  of  Rome,  of  the  roll- 
ing to})s  of  the  Nilghiri  Hills  in  southern  India,  from 
which,  unhapi)ily,  the  far  more  })eautiful  ancient  groves 
("slioLis'')  have  now  almost  disappeared.  Besides  those 
gums,  anoth(!r  Australian  tree,  the  thin-foliaged  and  un- 
lovely, but  quick-growing  ''  beefwood,"  has  been  largely 
planted  at  Kimberley  and  some  other  places.  The  stone- 
pine  of  southern  Europe,  the  cluster-pine  (Pi mis  Pinaster), 
and  the  Aleppo  or  Jerusalem  pine  {1*1)1  us  Halepensis)  have 
all  been  introduced  and  seem  to  do  well.  The  Australian 
wattles  have  been  found  very  useful  in  helping  to  fix  the 
soil  on  sandy  flats,  such  as  those  near  Cape  Town,  and  the 
bark  of  one  species  is  an  important  article  of  commerce  in 
Natal,  where  (near  Maritzburg,  for  instance)  it  grows  pro- 
fusely. But  of  all  the  immigrant  trees  none  is  so  beautiful 
as  the  oak.  The  Dutch  began  to  plant  it  round  Cape  Town 
early  in  the  eightec^nth  centuiy,  and  it  is  now  one  of  the 
elements  which  most  co)itribute  to  the  charm  of  the  scenery 
in  tliis  eminently  picturesque  southwest  corner  of  the 
country.  Nothing  can  be  more  charming  than  the  long 
oak  avenues  which  line  the  streets  of  Stellerbosch,  for  in- 
stance ;  and  they  help,  M'ith  the  old-fashioned  Dutch  houses 
of  that  quaint  little  town,  to  give  a  sort  of  Hobbema  flavor 
to  the  foregrounds. 

The  changes  which  man  has  produced  in  the  aspect  of 
countries,  by  the  trees  he  plants  and  the  crops  he  sows, 
are  a  curious  subject  for  inquiry  to  the  geographer  and 
the  historian.  These  changes  sometimes  take  place  very 
rapidly.    In  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  for  instance,  discovered 


\T:r,ETATTO\ 


31 


by  Captain  Cook  littlo  moi'c  tlian  a  <MMitnry  auo,  many  of 
the  sliiMibs  wliicli  most  alKMUid  ami  j^ivc  its  tone  to  tlie 
lamlscape  have  eome  (and  that  mostly  not  l>y  phmtinjj: 
but  spontaneously)  from  the*  shores  of  Asia  and  America 
within  the  last  ei'ditv  years.  In  E<rvi>t  most  of  the  trees 
which  fill  the  eve  in  the  drive  from  Cairo  to  the  Pyramids 
were  introduced  by  Mehemet  AH,  so  that  the  l)anks  of  the 
Nile,  as  we  see  them,  are  different  not  (ndy  fj'om  tliose 
which  Herodotus,  but  even  from  those  whieli  Napoleon 
saw.  In  North  Africa  the  Central  American  prickly-pear 
and  the  Australian  jjum  make  the  landsca[)e  quite  dif- 
ferent from  that  of  Carthaiijinian  or  even  of  Koman  times. 
So  South  Africa  is  chanii'inu'— chan<rini*'  all  the  more  be- 
cause many  of  the  immi<>Tant  trees  thrive  better  than  the 
indij:i^enous  ones  and  are  fit  for  sjHits  where  the  latter 
make  imt  little  prou'ress;  and  in  another  century  tlu^ 
country  may  wear  an  Jispect  (piite  unlike  that  whi(di  it 
now  presents. 


:^\ 


'h 


i-i  I 


m 


!■ 


CHAPTER  V 


PHYSICAL  ASPECTS  OP^  THE  VARIOUS  POLITICAL 

DIVISIONS 

HITHERTO  we  have  spoken  of  Soutli  Africa,  as  a 
natural  whole,  ignoring  its  artificial  division  into 
colonies  and  states.  It  may  be  well  to  complete  the  ac- 
count of  the  physical  characteristics  of  the  country  by 
giving  the  reader  some  notion  of  the  aspects  of  each  of 
the  political  divisions,  and  thereby  a  notion  also  of  their 
relative  importance  and  resources  as  wealth-producing 
regions. 

CAPE   COLONY 

Cape  Colony  is  a  huge  territory,  more  than  twice  as  large 
as  the  United  Kingdom.  But  very  little  of  it  is  availaljle  for 
tillage,  and  much  of  it  is  too  arid  even  for  stock-keeping. 
The  population,  including  natives,  is  only  seven  to  the 
s<iuare  mile.  Nearly  the  whole  of  it  is  high  country.  All 
along  its  westerly  coast  and  its  southc!  -y  coast  there  is  a 
strip  of  low  ground  bordering  the  ocean,  which  in  some 
places  is  but  a  mile  or  two  wide,  and  in  others,  where  a 
broad  valley  opens,  si)reads  backward,  giving  thirty  or 
forty  square  miles  of  tolerably  level  or  undulating  ground. 
The  rich  wine  and  corn  district  round  Stellenbosch  and 

32 


PHYSICAL  ASPECTS 


33 


! 


large 
ble  f  or 
epiug. 
to  the 
All 
re  is  a 
some 
lere  a 
rty  or 


Paarl  and  northwnrd  toward  ^lalinosburv  is  such  a  tract. 
Behind  this  low  strip  the  e(mntry  rises,  soiiietinies  in  steep 
acelivities,  up  which  a  road  or  railway  has  to  be  carried  in 
curves  and  zi^zaj!:s,  sometimes  in  successive  terraces,  the 
steps,  so  to  speak,  by  which  the  lofty  interior  breaks  dowii 
toward  the  sea. 

Ht'iiind  these  terraces  and  slopes  lies  the  great  table- 
land described  in  a  preceding  chapter.  Though  I  call  it  a 
tabh'-laiul,  it  is  by  no  means  flat,  for  several  hing  though 
not  lofty  ranges  of  hills,  mostly  running  east  and  west,  in- 
tersect it.  Some  tracts  are  only  2000  feet,  others  as  much 
as  5000  feet,  above  the  sea.  while  the  highest  hilltops 
approach  SOOO  feet.  The  ])art  of  this  high  country  which 
lies  l)etween  longitude  20^  and  25°  E.,  with  the  Nieuwveld 
and  Siu'euw))erg  mountains  to  the  north  of  it,  and  the 
Zwartc  Berg  to  the  smith,  is  called  the  (Jreat  Karroo. 
(The  word  is  Hottentot,  and  means  a  dry  or  bare  place.) 
It  is  tolerably  level,  excessively  dry,  with  no  such  thing  as 
a  running  stream  over  its  huge  exi)anse  of  three  hundred 
miles  long  and  half  as  nnicl^  wide,  nor,  indeed,  any  mois- 
ture, save  in  a  few  places  shaUow  i)ools  which  almost  dis- 
appear in  the  dry  season.  The  I'ainfall  ranges  from  live 
to  fifteen  inches  in  the  vear.  It  is  therefore  virtually  a 
desert,  bearing  no  herbage  (excei)t  for  a  we<.'k  or  two  after 
a  rain-storm)  and  no  trees,  though  there  are  plenty  of 
prickly  shrubs  and  small  bushes,  some  of  these  succulent 
enough,  when  tliey  si)rout  after  the  few  showers  that  fall 
in  the  summe:*,  to  give  good  browsing  to  she«»p  and  goats. 
The  brilliancy  of  the  air,  the  warmth  of  the  days,  and  the 
coldness  of  the  nights  remind  one  who  traverses  the  Kar- 
roo of  the  deserts  of  western  America  between  the  Rockv 
Mountains  and  the  Sierra  Nevada,  though  the  soil  is  much 
less  alkaline,  and  the  so-called  "  sage-brush  "  plants  charac- 


1 

i 


k! 


;i» 


34 


IMI'HKSSIONS   OF    SOl'TII    AFlilC'A 


•( 


I' 


tcri^stic  o^  an  alkaliiK'  district  an-  mostly  absent.  To  the 
north  of  tne  Karroo  and  of  the  mountains  wiiicli  bound 
it,  a  similar  distri<'t,  «'(iually  arid,  dreary,  and  barren, 
stretelies  away  to  the  l»anks  of  the  ()ranjx<'  Kiver,  wliidi 
Ijere  in  its  lower  course  has  less  water  than  in  its  ni)i)er 
course,  Ix'cause,  like  the  Nile,  it  receiv<'S  no  aifluents  and 
is  wasted  by  tlie  terrilde  sun.  In  fact,  one  may  say  tliat 
fr<»m  the  mountains  dividin<j^  the  southern  part  of  the 
Karroo  from  the  eoast  lands  all  the  wav  north  to  the 
()j'anj::e  h'iver,  a  distance  of  nearly  four  hundred  miles, 
natun;  has  made  the  country  a  desert  of  clav  and  stone 
(seldom  of  sand),  tluuij^h  man  has  here  and  there  tried  to 
redeem  it  for  habitation. 

The  northeastern  j)art  of  the  interior  of  Cai)e  Colony  is 
more  ^^enerally  elevated  than  the  southwestern.  From 
Gi-aaf-Heinet  northward  to  Kim]>erley  and  Mafekiufj:,  and 
northeastward  to  the  borders  of  Basutoland,  the  country 
is  4000  feet  or  more  aboye  sea-leyel ;  much  of  it  is  nearly 
leyel,  and  almost  all  of  it  bare  of  Avood.  It  is  better 
watered  than  the  M'estern  districts,  enjoyiufj:  a  rainfall  of 
from  ten  to  twenty-fiye  inches  in  the  year,  and  therefoiv 
much  of  it  is  covered  with  p;rass  after  the  rains,  and  not 
merely  with  dry,  thorny  bushes.  Nevertheless,  its  ii:eneral 
aspect  in  the  dry  season  is  so  parched  and  bare  that  the 
stranjjer  is  snrprised  to  be  told  that  it  supports  jjjreat 
({uantities  of  cattle,  sheep,  and  goats.  The  southeast- 
ern part,  including  the  Quathlamba  Range  and  the 
hilly  country  descending  from  that  range  to  the  sea, 
has  a  still  heavier  rainfall  and  is  in  some  places  cov- 
ered with  forest.  Here  the  gi-ass  is  richer,  and  in  the 
valleys  there  is  plenty  of  laud  fit  for  tillage  without  irri- 
gation. 


I'lIYHK'AL   ASI'KCTS 


:<r> 


THK  ("OI.ONY   OK   NATAL 

^Itioh  smaller,  but  more  favon'd  by  iiatiiro,  is  tho  Britisli 
colony  of  Natal,  which  adjoins  the  castcrniiiost  part  of 
Cape  Colonv,  while  still  farther  east  lies  the  British  ter- 
ritory of  Znluland.  l^oth  districts  resend)le  in  theii- 
)»hysi('al  conditions  the  southeastern  cornei'  of  Cape 
Cohniy.  Both  lie  entirely  on  the  S(!a  slope  of  the  (^inith- 
lamba  Kan^re,  and  are  covered  by  mountains  and  hills 
desceudinji,-  fi-oni  that  raujjre.  Both  are  hilly  or  nndu- 
latinii:,  with  a  eharininu:  variety  of  stu'face :  and  thev  are 
also  coni])aratiyely  well  watered,  with  a  ])erennial  stream  in 
•'Very  vaUey.  Hence  there  is  }>lenty  of  p'ass,  and  toward 
the  coast  plenty  of  wood  also,  while  the  loftier  interior  is 
])are.  The  climate  is  much  Avarnu'r  than  that  of  Cape 
Colony,  and  in  the  little  low  strip  which  borders  the  sea 
bec(mies  abnost  tropical.  Nor  is  this  heat  attributal)le 
entirely  to  the  latitude.  It  is  lar<rely  due  to  the  p'eat 
3Iozambi([ue  current,  which  bi'in<;s  down  from  the  tro])i(!al 
])arts  of  the  Indian  Ocean  avast  body  of  Avarm  water  which 
heats  tlie  adjoininir  coast  just  as  tlu'  Gulf  Stream  heats  tlie 
shores  of  Georijia  and  the  Carolinas ;  and  the  etf«'c.t  of  this 
mass  of  hot  water  warminjjf  the  air  over  it  would  doubtless 
be  felt  nnieh  moi-e  in  Natal,  Avere  it  not  for  the  rapid  rise 
of  the  irround  from  the  sea  in  that  colony.  Pietermaritz- 
burer,  the  capital,  is  oidy  some  fifty  miles  from  tin?  coast 
as  the  crow  tiies.  But  thou^i^h  it  lies  in  a  valley,  it  is  'Jli'J5 
feet  above  sea-level,  and  frotn  it  the  country  steadily  rises 
inland,  till  at  Lain^-'s  Nek,  tlie  watershed  between  the 
Indian  Ocean  and  the  Athmtic,  tin;  height  of  51300  feet  is 
reached,  and  the  winter  cold  is  severe.     Nearly  the  whole 


!  It 


i, 


v, 

>1 


i 


:i({ 


IMPHKSSIONS   OF   SOl'TII   AFKICA 


of  \atal  and  four  fiftlis  of  Ziiluland  may  tlius  be  (IcciiM'd 
a  temperate  eoimtry,  wlieiv  KurojH'aiis  can  thrive  and  nnd- 
tiply.  So  far  as  soil  jrocs  it  is  one  of  tlie  richest  as  well 
Jis  one  of  the  fairest  i)arts  of  South  Africa. 


.11 


E'  .< 


(iKiniAN    SOITIIWKST    M-'KICA 

Very  ditferent  is  tlie  vast  (lennan  territory  (8'J2,()()0 
scjuare  mih's)  which  stretches  northward  from  Cape  Colony, 
bounded  on  tlie  south  Ity  the  Oranjjfe  Hiver,  on  the  north 
))V  the  West  African  territories  of  Portuj^al,  on  the  east 
))y  l^echuannland.  (ireat  Naina(|ualand  and  Danuindand 
constitute  an  enormous  wilderness,  very  thinly  jieopled, 
l)e<'ause  the  means  of  life  are  very  scanty.  This  wilderness 
is,  except  the  narrow  and  sandy  coast  strip,  a  hij^li  countiy 
(IJOOO  to  4r)0()  feet  a])()ve  sea-level)  and  a  dry  country,  drier 
even  than  the  Karroo,  and  f{  drvfor  anvkind  of  culti- 

vatioi\  Some  j)arts,  es])ecia.  ..ose  in  the  southwest,  are 
hopelessly  parched  and  barren;  others  have  small  hushes 
or  |nrrass ;  while  on  the  higher  jjrouiuls  and  jjenerally  in 
the  far  northern  parts,  where  the  Ovanii)o  tribe  dwell, 
ji^rass  is  abundant,  and  as  cattle  can  thrive,  there  is  also 
population.  Copper  has  ])een  dis(*overed  in  considerable 
quantities,  and  other  minerals  (ineludinj?  coal)  are  believed 
to  exist.  But  the  country,  taken  all  in  all,  and  excepting 
the  little-explored  districts  of  the  northcMst,  toward  the 
Upper  Zambesi,— districts  whose  resoiirces  are  still  very 
imperfectly  known,— is  a  dreary  and  desolate  region, 
which  seems  likely  to  prove  of  little  value.  Germany 
now  owns  the  whole  of  it,  save  the  port  of  Walfish  Bay, 
which  has  been  retained  for  and  is  administered  by  Cape 
Colony. 


PI 


PHYSICAL  ASPECTS 


37 


P()HTI'(JI'F:sK   SOUTHKAST    Al'KICA 

On  tho  o])|H)sit«'  side  of  tlic  contiiit'iit  IVtrtuLrnl  holds  tlie 
country  \vlii<'li  lirs  alonj,'  tlic  Indian  Ocean  from  Zululand 
nortlnvai'd  to  tlw  Zambesi.  Close  to  the  sea  it  is  levi-l, 
risin};  gently  westward  in  hills,  and  in  some  places  ex- 
tending to  the  crest  of  the  Quatldaml)a  Mountains,  Thus 
it  has  considcrahle  variety  of  aspect  and  climate,  and  as 
the  rain  falls  <'hietly  on  the  slopes  of  the  mountains,  the 
interior  is  generally  hetter  watered  than  ihe  flat  seaboard, 
which  is  often  sandy  and  worthless.  Much  of  this  region 
is  of  great,  fertility,  capable  of  producing  all  the  fruits  of 
the  tropics.  But  much  of  it,  including  some  (►f  the  most 
fertile  parts,  is  also  very  malarious,  while  the  heat  is  far  too 
great  for  European  hibor.  When  phmtations  are  estab- 
lished throughout  it,  as  they  have  l)een  in  a  few— but  only 
a  few— s})ots  by  the  Portuguese,  it  will  be  by  natives  that 
they  will  be  cultivated.  The  Kafir  ])opulation  is  now  com- 
paratively small,  but  this  is  due  (juite  as  nuu-h  to  the  deso- 
lating native  wars  as  to  the  eoiulitions  of  the  soil. 

So  nnu'h  for  the  four  maritime  countries.  There  remain 
the  two  Dutch  republics  and  the  British  territories  which 
have  not  yet  been  formed  into  colonies. 


1% 


I 


I'       i 


THE   ORANGE   FREE   STATE 


The  Orange  Free  State  (48,000  square  miles)  lies  entirely 
on  the  great  plateau,  between  4000  and  5000  feet  above  sea- 
level.  It  is  in  the  main  a  level  country,  though  hills  are 
scattered  over  it,  sometimes  reaching  a  height  of  nearly 
6000  feet.  A  remarkable  feature  of  most  of  these  hills,  as 
of  many  all  over  the  i)lateau,  is  that  they  are  flat-topped,  and 

have  often  steep,  even  craggy,  escarpments.   This  seems  due 
a* 


I? 


[(• 


3H 


IMI'HKSSIONS   OF   SorTM    AI'IflCA 


r 


V'. 


\{ 


i 


to  tlic  fact  tliiit  tli«'  strata  (chii'tly  saiidsloiH')  an'  horizontal, 
uiid  Vi'vy  ot'trii  a  Ix'd  of  liai'd  it^iicoiis  rock,  soinc  kind  of 
trap  or  ufrccnstonc  or  poi'plivrv,  prottM-ts  tlir  suiiiniit  of  tli«' 
hill  from  tlu*  disintcj^ratini,''  infliuMiccs  of  the  \v«'ath<'r.  It 
is  a  hart!  land,  with  very  little  wood,  and  that  sniall  and 
scrubby,  but  is  well  covered  with  herba^^e,  atl'ordinj^  ex- 
ccllt'nt  pasture  durinj^'  two  thirds  of  the  year.  After  th«^ 
Mrst  rains,  when  these  wide  strctcht's  of  j^'ently  un<lulatin^ 
land  are  dressed  in  their  new  vesture  of  brilliant  j^'reen, 
n<)thin«,'  can  be  imagined  more  exhilarating  than  a  ride 
across  the  wide  expanse;  for  the  air  is  j)ure,  keen,  and 
bnicin<ir,  much  like  that  of  the  hifj^h  prairies  of  Colorado 
or  Wyoming,'.  There  are,  fortunately,  no  blizzards,  but 
violent  thunder-storms  are  not  uneommon,  and  tlie  hail- 
stones—  T  have  seen  them  as  })ii;  as  bantams' e«j:<;s— which 
fall  durin<,'  such  storms  sometimes  kill  the  smaller  aninuds, 
and  even  m<'n.  Dry  as  the  land  appears  to  the  eye  durinjjf 
the  winter,  the  lar«rer  streams  do  not  wlndly  fail,  and 
wat(T  can  generally  he  jfot.  The  southeastern  part  of 
the  Free  State,  esj)eeially  alonjf  the  Caledfui  Kiver,  is  ex- 
tremely fertile,  one  of  tlie  best  eorn-ffrowin*?  parts  of 
Africa.  The  rest  is  fitter  for  pasture  than  for  tillajye,  ex- 
cept, of  course,  on  the  alluvial  l)anks  of  the  rivers,  and 
nearly  the  whole  rep:ioii  is,  in  fact,  oecu])ied  by  hu^ye  jrraz- 
in^  farms.  As  such  a  farm  needs  and  supports  only  a  few 
men,  the  population  jjrows  but  slowly.  The  Free  State  is 
nearly  as  l)i«;  as  England  aiul  just  as  h\^  as  the  State  of 
New  York ;  but  it  has  only  77,000  white  inhabitants  and 
about  130,000  natives. 

T'lE   SOUTH   AFRICAN   REPUBTJC 

Somewhat  larger— a) )ont  as  large  as  Great  Britain  and 
nearly  two  thirds  the  size  of  France— is  the  South  African 


I'lIVSlCAL   ASI'KCTS 


30 


U't'imldii*,  wliicli  we  conniionly  t.ilk  (»t'  as  thr  Traiisvanl. 
Of  its  wliitc  pojuilatioii,  wliich  iiinulMTs sonic  ITO.OOO.  two 
IhinlsarciiitlM'small  iiiiiiiii«r  district  oftlic  Wit  waters  •and. 
All  rill'  Ti'ansvaal,(.'X(*»i{)t  a  strip  on  tln'castfrn  and  anotlur 
sti'ij)  on  the  nortlici'n  bordci'  aloiii;  the  rivci-  Limpojio, 
als«>  lu'lonji's  to  tlic  f^rt'at  platcan  and  cxiiiliits  tlif  ciiarac- 
tcristic  ft'aturt's  of  the  platran.  'I'lir  liills  arc,  liowcvcr, 
liiu'ln'i*  tlian  in  tlic  Fret'  State,  and  alctny"  tlie  east,  wiiere 
the  (^natldainlta  Kan<;e  forms  tlie  outer  edije  of  tlie  plateau, 
tliev  deserve  to  l)eealled  nionntains,  for  some  of  them  reach 
7(H)U  fei't.  These  hi<;h  rejjions  are  healthy,  for  the  summer 
heats  are  temjx'red  by  eastei'ly  l>reezes  and  copious  sum- 
mer rains.  The  lower  parts  lyin*,'  toward  the  hidian 
Ocean  and  the  Limpopo  Hiver  are  feverisli,  thouji;!)  drain- 
age and  cultivjiticni  nuiy  be  expected  to  reduce  the  malaria 
and  improve  the  condition'-  of  health.  Like  the  Free  State, 
the  Transvaal  isjtrimarily  a  pasture-land,  i>ut  in  many  parts 
the  hcrbatje  is  less  iuiev  and  wholesome  than  in  the  smaller 
republic,  ami  bclonj^s  to  what  the  Dutch  lioers  call  "sour 
veldt."  There  are  trees  in  the  more  sheltered  parts,  but, 
exce])t  in  the  lower  valleys,  they  are  simdl,  and  of  no  eco- 
nomic vahu'.  Tiie  winter  cohl  is  sever*',  and  the  lierce  siui 
dries  u\)  the  soil  and  makes  the  »i:rass  sear  and  brown  for 
the  jiTcater  part  of  the  year.  Stron<;  winds  swee{)  over  the 
vast  sti'etchcs  of  open  upland,  checked  by  no  belts  of  forest. 
It  is  a  country  whose  aspect  has  little  to  attract  the  settler. 
No  one  would  think  it  worth  fijirhtinu:  for  so  far  as  the  sur- 
face ^oes ;  and  until  fourteen  years  a^'o  nobody  knew  that 
there  was  anythinj^  worth  having  below  the  surface. 


t 


1  ) 
I 

!     'II 


BRITISH   TEKHITOUIKS— HECIIUANALAND 

Of  one  of  the  British  territories  outside  the  two  colonies, 
viz.,  Zululaiul,  I  have  already  s})oken  ;  of  anothei",  liasuto- 


in 


40 


IMPHKSSIOXH  OF   SOl'TII    AlMdrA 


I 


'      1 


IjiihI,  I  hIihII  liiivc  to  speak  fully  licrciiftcr.  A  third,  Hrchu- 
aiiiilaiKl,  iiH'ludin^j  the  Kalahari  Desert,  is  oi'  vast  extent, 
Imt  slender  value.  It  is  a  level  land  Ivintr  entirelv  on  the 
plateau  hetween  IJOOO  and  4000  feet  ahove  the  sea,  and 
while  some  of  its  streandets  <lrain  into  the  liini])op<)  and 
so  to  tlM'  Indian  Oeenn,  others  flow  westward  and  north- 
ward into  nuirshes  and  shallow  lakes,  in  whieh  thev  dis- 


appear 


One  or  two,  however,  sueeeed,  in  wet  seasons,  in 


pttin^'  as  far  as  the  Oranj^e  River,  and  find  throuj^di  it  an 
outlet  to  the  sea.     It  is  oidv  in  the  wet  season  that  the 

• 

streandets  flow,  for  Heehuanaland  is  intenselv  drv.  I 
traveled  four  hundred  miles  throuj;h  it  without  onee  cross- 
ing running;  water,  tliou^di  here  and  there  in  trav»'rsinp 
the  dry  bed  of  a  brook  one  was  told  that  tlu  "^  was  water 
uiulerneath,  dee]>  in  the  sand.  Notwithstanding  this  sujter- 
lieial  aridity,  eastern  lieehuanaland  is  deemed  one  of  the 
best  ranehiufj^  tracts  in  South  Africa,  for  the  ^rass  is  sweet, 
and  water  (tan  usually  be  obtained  by  dijrjrinjr,  thoufrh  it 
is  often  brackish.  There  is  also  j)lenty  of  wood  — rather 
thin,  seldom  tall,  and  extremely  thorny,  but  sufliciently 
abundant  to  diversify  the  as})i'et  of  what  would  otherwise 
be  a  most  dreary  and  monotonous  re^':ion. 


THE  TERKITOHIKS  OF  THE   BRITISH    SOUTH  AFRICA  COMPANY 

North  of  Beehiianaland  and  the  Transvaal,  and  streteh- 
iwg  all  the  way  to  the  Zambesi,  are  those  immense  terri- 
tories wlii(di  have  been  assijjned  to  the  British  South  Africa 
Company  as  the  spliere  of  its  operations,  and  to  whi<'h  the 
name  of  Rhodesia  has  been  jj^iven.  Matabililand  and 
Mashonaland,  the  only  i)arts  that  have  been  at  all  settled, 
are  hipfher,  more  nndulating,  and  altogether  more  attractive 
than  Beehuanaland,  with  great  swelling  downs  somewhat 


I'UVSlCAh    ASI'KCTS 


41 


r»»s<'nil.lit)^'  tlio  st('])|)os  of  soutlu'ni  liussia  <»r  tin*  pniirirs 
of  Kansas.  Kxccpt  in  the  cast  uikI  soiitlirast,  tlic  laixl  is 
iiiMliilatiii^'  ratlirr  tlian  hilly,  hut  in  th*'  south,  toward  thv 
Transvaal,  lies  a  iiijrh  n'}.Mon,  full  of  small  locky  lni^'hts 
off«'n  ('httluMl  with  thi<k  Itush  — a  coujitrv  ditllcult  to  tniv- 
t'l'st',  as  lias  Imtii  found  during'  thr  ro'cnt  native  outhn-ak  ; 
for  it  is  hen*  that  the  Kalirs  have  taken  sheltei-  and  lieen 
found  dillieult  to  dislodjj;*'.  N'orthward  tln'  land  sinks  to- 
ward the  Zandtesi,  and  the  soil,  whi«;h  anutu^'  the  hills  is 
thin  or  sandy,  heeonies  deeper.  In  that  part  and  alonir  tho 
river  hanks  thore  ai'e  ^rcat  possil>ilities  «>f  a},'rii'ultural 
developnu-nt,  while  the  uplands,  where  the  suhjaeent  roek 
is  j;ranite  or  «;neiss,  with  oeeasional  heds  of  slate  or  schist, 
are  p-nerally  harer  and  more  dry,  fit  rather  for  jiasture 
than  for  tilla«re.  Mon?  rain  falls  than  in  Heehuamdan<l, 
so  it  is  only  at  the  end  of  the  ilry  season,  in  Oetoiier,  that 
the  jrrass  lt»'<;ins  to  fail  on  the  pastures.  The  elinuite, 
th<»uj;h  very  warm,  — for  hei-e  we  are  well  within  the 
tropii's,— is  j)leasant  and  invi«roratiii^',  for  nowhere  do 
hrij^hter  and  fresher  breezes  hlow,  an<l  the  heat  of  Wui 
afternoons  is  forp)tteu  in  the  eool  eveninj,'s.  It  is  health- 
ful, too,  except  alon<r  the  swampy  river  bav'.s  and  where 
one  descends  to  the  levels  of  the  ZamlM'si. 

Tho  reader  will  have  gathered  from  this  pMu-ral  sketch 
that  there  are  no  luitural  houuihiries  severing'  from  one 
another  the  various  political  divisions  of  South  Africa. 
The  iiortlieastern  part  of  Cape  Colony  is  substantially  tin; 
same  kind  of  country  as  the  Orange  Free  State  and  eastern 
Becliuanaland ;  the  Transvaal,  or  lu-arly  three  fourths  of 
its  area,  is  physically  similar  to  the  Free  State,  while  Mata- 
bililand  and  Mashonaland  present  features  resembling 
those  of  the  northern  Transvaal,  differing  only  in  being 
rather  hotter  and  rather  better  watered.     So  far  as  nature 


I     'I 

/ 


t 


fl 


i  1 


42 


IMPKE8SI0NS   OF   SOUTH   AFK'K'A 


is  eoncorned,  tlio  conditions  slie  proscribes  for  tlie  life  of 
man,  tlie  resources  she  opens  to  liis  energies,  are  very  sim- 
ilar over  these  wide  areas,  save,  of  course,  that  some  parts 
are  lauch  ri<;lier  than  others  in  mineral  deposits.  It  is 
only  ahnifj^  tlie  frontier  line  which  divides  Natal  and  the 
Portuguese  dominions  from  the  Transvaal  and  the  teri'i- 
torit's  of  the  Britisli  South  Africa  Comi)any  that  a  political 
coincides  with  a  physical  line  of  demarcation.  Even  (Tcr- 
man  Southwest  Africa  differs  little  from  the  Kalahai'i 
Desert,  which  adjoins  it  and  which  forms  the  western  part 
of  Bechucinahmd,  and  differs  little  also  from  the  north- 
western regions  of  Cape  Colony  In  other  words,  the 
causes  which  iiave  cut  up  South  Africa  into  its  present 
colonies  and  states  have  been  (except  as  regards  Natal  and 
the  Portuguese  dominions)  historical  causes  rather  than 
differences  due  to  the  hand  of  uatui'e. 


\' 


1. 


CHAPTER  VI 
NATUKE  AND  HISTORY 

NOW  tliat  some  jjoiioral  idea  f)f  how  nature  has  sliaped 
and  inohied  South  Africa  has  V)een  conveyed  to  tlie 
reader,  a  few  pajjres  may  be  devoted  to  considering?  wliat 
influence  on  the  fortunes  of  the  country  and  its  inhabi- 
tants has  been  exerted  by  its  pliysical  character.  The 
liistory  of  every  coinitry  may  be  re<?arded  as  the  joint  re- 
sult of  three  factors— the  natural  conditions  of  the  country 
itself,  tlie  (jualities  of  the  races  that  have  occupied  it,  and 
the  circumstances  under  which  their  occupation  look  place. 
And  among  savage  or  barbarous  peoples  natural  con- 
ditions have  an  even  greater  importance  than  they  have 
in  more  advanced  periods  of  civilization,  because  they  are 
more  powerful  as  against  man.  JNIan  in  his  savage  state 
is  not  yet  able  to  resist  such  conditions  or  to  turn  them  to 
server  his  purposes,  but  is  condemned  to  su])mit  to  the 
kind  of  life  which  they  prescribe. 

This  was  the  case  with  the  first  inhabitants  of  South 
Africa.  Thej'^  seem  to  have  entered  it  as  savages,  and 
savages  they  remained.  Nature  was  strong  and  stern  ;  sh«i 
spread  before  them  no  such  rich  alluvial  i)lains  as  tempted 
cultivation  in  the  valleys  of  the  Nile  and  the  Eui)hrates. 
Intellectually  feeble,  and  without  the  patience  or  the  fore- 

43 


) 


M 


■ 


44 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


< 


k        ' 


sight  to  attempt  to  till  the  soil  in  a  land  where  droughts 
are  frequent  and  disastrous,  the  Bushmen  were  eontent 
with  killing  game  and  the  Hottentots  with  living  on  the 
milk  of  their  cattle.  Sueh  a  life,  which  was  one  of  un- 
certainty {ind  often  of  hardship,  permitted  no  accumula- 
tion of  wealth,  gave  no  leisure,  suggested  no  higher  want 
than  that  of  food,  and  was  in  all  respects  unfavorable 
to  material  progress.  p]ven  the  Kafirs,  who  (!ame  later 
and  were  more  advanced,  carrying  on  some  little  cultiva- 
tion of  the  soil,  remained  at  a  low  level.  Nature  gave 
them,  excei)t  in  dry  years,  as  much  corn  as  they  needed 
in  return  for  very  little  labor.  Clothing  they  did  not  need, 
and  their  isolation  from  the  rest  of  the  world  left  them 
ignorant  of  luxuries.  When  the  European  voyagers  found 
them  at  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  they  were  mak- 
ing little  or  no  advance  in  the  arts  of  life. 

Upon  tlie  growth  of  European  settlements  the  infiuence 
of  the  physical  structure  of  the  country  has  been  very 
marked.  When  the  Portuguese  had  followed  the  long 
line  of  coast  from  the  mouth  of  the  Orar.ge  Kiver  to  that 
of  the  Zambesi,  and  from  the  mouth  of  the  Zambesi  north- 
ward to  Zanzibar,  they  settled  only  where  they  heard  that 
gold  and  ivory  (!ould  be  ol)tained.  Their  forts  and  trading 
stations,  the  first  of  which  dates  from  1505,  were  therefore 
planted  on  the  coast  northward  from  the  Limpopo  River. 
Sofala,  a  little  south  of  the  modern  port  of  Beira,  was  the 
principal  one.  Here  they  traded,  and  twice  or  thrice  they 
made,  always  in  search  of  the  gold-producing  regions,  ex- 
peditions inland.  These  expeditions,  however,  had  to  trav- 
erse the  fiat  and  Uiuuirious  strip  of  ground  which  lies  along 
the  Indian  Ocean.  A  large  part  of  the  white  troops  died, 
and  the  rest  arrived  at  the  higher  gi'ound  so  much  weakened 
that  they  could  achieve  no  permanent  conquests,  for  they 


1^' 


NATURE  AND   HISTORY 


45 


were  opposed  by  warlike  tribes.  In  the  course  of  years  a 
small  population  speaking  Portuguese,  though  mixed  with 
native  blood,  grew  up  along  the  coast.  The  elinuite.  how- 
ever, destroyed  what  vigor  the  whites  had  brought  from 
Europe,  and  by  degrees  they  ceased  even  to  attenn)t  lo 
conquer  or  occupy  the  interior.  The  heat  and  the  rains, 
together  with  fever,  the  offspring  of  heat  and  rains, 
checked  further  jn'ogress.  Three  centuries  passed,  during 
wliich  the  knowledge  of  southeastern  Africa  which  the 
civilized  world  had  obtained  within  twcntv  vears  after  the 

ft      ft- 

time  of  Vasco  da  Gania  was  scarcely  increased. 

During  those  tliree  centuries  America,  whieh  had  not 
been  discovered  till  six  vears  after  Bartliolomew  Diaz 
passed  tlie  Cape  of  Good  Ho})e,  had  been,  all  except  a  part 
of  the  northwest,  pretty  thoroughly  explori'd  iind  j)arti- 
tioned  out  among  five  Euroi)ean  powers.  Large  and  pros- 
perous colonies  had  sprung  uj),  and  before  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  century  one  great  independent  state  had  estab- 
lished itself.  The  discovery  of  Australia  and  New  Zealand 
came  much  later  than  that  of  America,  but  within  one 
century  from  the  first  European  settlement  in  Australia 
(a.  d.  1787)  the  whole  (continent,  though  its  interior  is  un- 
inviting, had  been  traversed  along  many  lines,  and  five 
prosperous  l-juropean  colonies  had  grown  to  importance. 
The  slow  progress  of  exploration  and  settlement  in  South 
Africa  during  so  long  a  ])eriod  is  therefore  a  noteworthy 
phenomenon  which  deserves  a  few  ol)servations. 

As  regards  the  Portuguese  part  of  the  East  African 
coast,  the  explanation  just  given  is  sufficient.  As  regards 
that  part  of  the  west  coast  which  lies  south  of  the  Portu- 
guese colony  of  Angola,  the  natural  features  of  the  countiy 
nnikt;  no  explanation  necessary.  Xo  more  arid  or  barren 
coast  is  to  be  f(mnd  anvwliere,  and  in  its  wliole  lonir  stretch 


A 


^?] 


I 


!(i 


<   1 


46 


LMPKESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


:h 


i. 


1:    ■ 


! 


'J 


'■-    t    '■'■  ,  if 


tliere  is  T)ut  one  tolcrjible  port,  tliat  of  Walfish  Bay.  The 
inland  rej^ion  is  seareely  better.  Mueh  of  it  is  waterless 
and  without  herba^'e.  No  gold,  nor  ivory,  nor  other  arti- 
ele  of  value,  was  obtainable.  Aeeordinp^ly,  no])ody  cared 
to  settle  or  ex])h)re,  and  the  land  would  probably  be  still 
lyin<^  unelainied  had  not  the  settlement  of  Ilerr  Luderitz 
and  a  vague  desire  for  territorial  expansion  jtroinpted  Ger- 
many to  oe('uj)y  it  in  1884. 

The  south  coast,  from  the  Cape  to  the  Tugela  Kiver,  was 
much  more  attractive.  Here  the  climate  was  salubrious, 
the  land  in  many  places  fertile,  and  everywhere  fit  for  sheep 
or  cattle.  Here,  accordingly,  a  small  European  community, 
first  founded  in  1052,  grew  up  and  spread  slowly  eastward 
and  northward  along  the  shore  during  the  century  and  a 
half  from  its  first  establishment.  The  Dutch  settlers  did 
not  care  to  penetrate  tin'  interior,  because  the  interior 
seemed  to  offer  little  to  a  farmer.  Behind  the  well- watered 
coast  belt  lay  successive  lines  of  steep  mountains,  and  be- 
hind those  mountains  the  desert  waste  of  the  Karroo, 
where  it  takes  six  acres  to  keep  a  sheep.  Accordingly,  it 
was  only  a  few  bold  huntei's,  a  few  farmers  on  the  out- 
skirts of  the  little  maritime  colony,  and  a  few  missionaries 
who  cared  to  enter  this  wide  wilderness. 

When  exploration  began,  it  began  from  this  southwest 
corner  of  Africa.  It  began  late.  In  1806,  when  the  British 
took  the  Ca})e  from  the  Dutch,  few  indeed  were  the  white 
men  who  had  penetrated  more  than  one  hundi-ed  miles 
from  the  coast,  and  the  farther  interior  was  known  only 
by  report.  For  thirty  years  more  progress  was  slow; 
and  it  is  within  our  own  time  that  nearly  all  the  explora- 
tion, and  the  settlement  which  has  follow(Hl  quickly  on  the 
heels  of  exploration,  has  taken  place.  Just  sixty  years 
ago  the  Dutch  Boers  passed  in  their  heavy  wagons  from 


L 


NATURE   AND   IIISTOKY 


47 


Capo  Colony  to  the  sjxtts  wlicro  Blocmfoiitcin  nnd  Pre- 
toria now  stand.  In  isr)4-r)()  David  Livin«;stoni>  niado  his 
wav  thronij:li  licclinanaland  to  tlio  falls  of  tlie  Zambesi  and 
tlie  west  eoast  at  ISt.  Paul  de  Loanda.  In  18H9  the  vast 
territories  l)etween  the  Transvaal  Kepuhlic  and  the 
Zambesi  be«ran  to  be  ()ecu])ied  by  the  Maslionaland  ]>io- 
neers.  All  these  ex})lorers,  all  tlie  farmers,  missionaries, 
liunters,  and  niinin<j  prospeetors,  eamc  up  into  Soiith  Cen- 
tral Afriea  from  the  southwest  extremitv  of  the  continent 
over  the  ^reat  jJateau.  They  moved  northeastward,  be- 
cause there  was  more  rain,  and  therefori'  more  p-ass  and 
yame  iu  that  direction  than  toward  the  nortli.  Tliev  were 
ciiecked  from  time  to  time  bv  the  warlike  native  tribes  ;  but 
thev  were  drawn  on  bv  findinijc  evervwhere  a  countrv  in 
which  Europeans  could  live  and  thrive.  It  was  the  exist- 
ence of  tliis  hi^li  and  cool  plateau  that  permitted  their 
discoverief:  and  encouraged  their  settlement.  And  tlius 
the  rich  interior  has  <'(»me  to  l)elon_<:-.  not  totlie  Portu^iuese, 
who  first  laid  hold  of  South  Afriea,  but  to  tlie  races  who  first 
entered  the  i)lateau  at  the  point  where  it  is  nearest  the  sea, 
the  Dutch  and  the  ?^n<;]isli.  (^iminfj  a  thousand  miles  ])y 
land,  thev  have  seized  and  colonized  the  countrv  that  lies 
within  sixtv  or  ei<ditv  miles  of  the  ocean  behind  the  Portu- 
^uese  settlements,  because  they  had  good  liealtliy  ail'  to 
breathe  duriniif  all  those  thou.saiul  miles  of  journey,  wliih> 
the  Portufj^uese,  sunk  amon^  tro])ical  swam])s,  were  doin*; 
no  more  than  maintain  their  hold  upon  the  coast,  and  were: 
allowing  even  the  few  forts  they  had  established  along  tlie 
lower  course  of  the  Zambesi  to  crumble  awav. 

The  same  natural  conditions,  however,  which  have  made 
the  plateau  healthy,  have  kept  it  sparsely  ]>eopled.  ^luch 
of  this  liigh  interior,  whose  settlement  has  occupied  the 
last  sixty  years,  is  a  desert,  unfit,  and  likely  to  be  always 


];\ 


'■J 


'I 


111 


I 


48 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


s 


unfit,  for  liunian  lia])itati()ii.  Even  in  those  parts  which 
are  comparatively  well  watered  the  j^razin^  for  sheep  and 
cattle  is  so  scanty  during  some  months  of  tin;  year  that 
farms  are  larj^e,  houses  are  scattered  far  from  one  another, 
and  the  population  renniins  extremely  thin.  The  wilder- 
ness of  the  Karroo  cuts  off  Cape  Town  and  its  compara- 
tively popuh)us  neighborhood  fr(mi  the  pastoral  districts 
of  the  Orange  Free  State.  Between  these  two  setth^d  dis- 
tricts there  are  only  a  few  villages,  scattered  at  intervals 
of  many  miles  along  a  line  of  railway  four  hundred  miles 
in  length.  In  the  Free  State  and  the  Transvaal  the  white 
population  is  extremely  sparse,  save  in  the  mining  re- 
gion of  the  Witwatersrand,  because  ranching  re({uires  few 
liands,  and  oidy  a  few  hundred  s(piare  miles  out  of  many 
thousands  have  been  brought  under  cultivation.  Thus, 
while  the  coolness  of  the  climate  has  i)ermitted  Euro})eans 
to  thrive  in  these  conii)aratively  low  latitudes,  its  dryness 
has  kept  down  their  numbers  and  has  retarded  not  only 
their  ])olitical  (levelopnu'nt,  but  their  progress  in  all  those 
arts  and  i)ursuits  which  imply  a  tolerably  large  and  varied 
society.  The  note  of  South  African  life,  the  thing  that 
strikes  the  traveler  with  increasing  force  as  he  visits  one 
])art  of  the  country  after  another,  is  the  paucity  of  inhabi- 
tants and  the  isolated  life  which  these  inhabitants,  except 
in  six  or  seven  towns,  are  forced  to  lead.  This  is  the 
doing  of  nature.  She  has  not  severed  the  countr}^  into 
distinct  social  or  political  communities  by  any  lines  of 
physical  demarcation,  but  she  has  provided  such  scanty 
means  of  sustenance  that  one  might  almost  call  South 
Africa  a  vast  solitude,  with  a  few  oases  of  population 
dotted  here  and  there  over  it. 


'i 


*f 


CHAPTER   VII 


ASPECTS  OF   SCENERY 


THE  sketch  I  Imve  jriven  of  tlio  pliysicjil  eliaraotcr  of 
South  Africa  will  doubtless  liuve  conveyed  to  the 
reader  that  the  country  offers  comparatively  little  to  at- 
tract the  lover  of  natural  scenery.  This  impression  is 
true  if  the  sort  of  landscape  we  have  learned  to  enjoy  in 
Europe  and  in  the  eastern  parts  of  the  Tnited  States  be 
taken  as  the  tyi)e  of  scuMiery  which  ^:ives  most  pleasure. 
Variety  of  form,  boldness  of  outline,  the  i)resen(!e  of  water 
in  lakes  and  runnin<>'  sjrei.nis,  and,  above  all,  foliafi:e  and 
verdure,  are  the  main  elements  of  beaiitv  in  those  land- 
scapes ;  V,  iii'e  if  any  one  desires  somethin*;  of  more  impos- 
iu*;'  grandeur,  he  finds  it  in  snow-capped  mountains  like 
the  Alps  or  the  Cascade  Kanjjje,  or  in  nuijesti(^  (M-ajjs  such 
as  those  which  tower  over  the  fiords  of  Norway.  Hut  the 
scenery  of  South  Africa  is  wholly  unlike  that  of  Europe 
or  of  nu)st  parts  of  America.  It  is,  ahove  all  thhigs,  a 
dry  land,  a  parched  nud  thirsty  land,  where  no  clear  brooks 
murnuir  throu<4h  the  meadow,  no  cascade  sparkles  from 
the  clifl',  where  m  >untain  and  plain  alike  are  brown  and 
dusty  except  during;  the  short  season  of  the  rains.  And 
being  a  dry  land,  it  is  also  a  bare  land.  Few  are  the  favored 
spots  iu  which  a  veritable  forest  can  be  seen ;  for  though 
*  49 


I  . 


I. 


K 


I 


i  *• 


»l 


I 

4 


50 


LMrUESSlONS   UF   SOUTH   AFKICA 


't- 


I  >. 


ninnv  tracts  arc  wfxulcd.  tlio  troos  are  almost  always  tliin 
and  stunted.  In  Matal)ililai'd,  for  instance,  tliou^'li  a  ^'rcat 
part  of  the  surface  is  covered  with  wood,  you  see  no  trees 
t'oi'ty  feet  lii^'li,  and  few  reaching'  tliirtv;  while  in  tlie  wil- 
<lerness  of  tlie  Kalaliari  Desert  and  Daniaraland  nothiii}^' 
lai'^'er  tiian  a  l)ush  is  visil)le  excei)t  tlie  scrajif^'y  and  thorny 
mimosas. 

These  features  of  Soutli  Africa— the  want  of  water  and 
tlie  Avant  of  <i:reenness— are  tho.se  to  which  a  native  <)f 
western  Europe  tinds  it  hardest  to  accustom  himself,  how- 
ever thoroujjfhly  he  may  enjoy  the  ])i'illiant  sun  and  the 
keen,  dry  air  which  ^o  alon<?  with  them.  And  it  must 
also  he  admitted  that  over  very  lar<j:e  areas  the  aspects  of 
nature  are  so  uniform  as  to  become  monotfuums.  One  may 
travel  eijj^ht  hundred  miles  and  see  less  variety  in  the  land- 
scape than  one  would  find  in  one  fourth  of  the  same  dis- 
tance anywhere  in  western  Europe  or  in  America  east  of 
the  Alle<rhanv  Mountains.  The  same  ^eolojjfical  forma- 
tions prevail  over  wide  areas,  and  give  the  same  profile  to 
the  hilltop,  the  same  undulati(ms  to  the  plain,  while  in 
traveling  northward  toward  the  equator  the  flora  seems  to 
change  far  less  between  34°  and  18°  south  latitude  than 
it  changes  in  the  journey  from  Barcelona  to  Havre,  through 
only  half  as  many  degrees  of  latitude. 

There  are,  nevertheless,  several  interesting  bits  of 
scenery  in  South  Africa,  which,  if  they  do  not  of  them- 
selves repay  the  traveler  for  so  long  a  journey,  add  sensibly 
to  his  enjoyment.  The  situation  of  Cape  Town,  with  a 
magnificent  range  of  precipices  rising  behind  it,  a  noble 
bay  in  front,  and  environs  full  of  beautiful  avenues  and 
pleasure-grounds,  while  bold  mountain-peaks  close  the 
more  distant  landscape,  is  equaled  by  that  of  few  other 
cities  in  the  world.     Constantinople  and  Naples,  Bombay 


i 


i 


ASPFXTS   OF   SCENEUV 


51 


and  San  Fraiiciser),  cannot  l»i)ast  of  nior<»  perfect  or  nnire 
varied  prospects.  There  ure  some  line  pieces  (►f  wood  and 
water  scenery  alonj;  tlie  south  coast  of  Cape  Colony,  and 
one  of  sin^'uhir  charm  in  tlie  adjoininjjf  coh)ny  of  Xatal, 
where  the  suburbs  of  Durban,  the  principal  port,  thoujrh 
they  hick  the  j^'randeur  which  its  cra^%'y  heights  jjive  to 
the  neijifhborhood  of  Cape  Town,  have,  Avith  a  warmer  cli- 
nuite,  a  richer  and  more  tropically  luxurumt  vej^^etation. 
In  the  ^reat  ran^i^  of  mountains  which  runs  some  seven- 
teen hundred  miles  f-om  Caj)e  Town  almost  to  the  })anks 
of  the  Zambesi,  the  scenery  ])eeomes  striking  in  three  dis- 
tricts oidv.  One  of  these  is  liasutoland,  a  little  luitive 
territory  which  lies  just  where  Cape  Colony,  the  Oranjre 
Fret^  State,  and  Natal  meet.  Its  ])eaks  are  the  hijjfhest  in 
Africa  south  of  Mount  Kilimandjaro,  for  several  of  them 
reach  11,000  feet.  On  the  .southeast  this  mountain-land, 
the  Switzerland  of  South  Africa,  faces  Natal  and  East 
(}ri(pndand  with  a  lon^'  ranjre  of  formidable  })recipices, 
imj)assable  for  numy  miles.  The  interior  contains  valley.s 
and  ^lens  of  sinjj:ular  beauty,  some  wild  and  rujjfjj^ed,  some 
(dotlied  with  ric'h  j)asture.  Tin;  voice  of  brooks,  a  sound 
rare  in  Africa,  rises  from  the  hidden  depths  of  the  gorges, 
and  here  and  there  torrents  plunging  over  the  edge  of  a 
basaltic  cliff  into  an  abyss  ])elow  nuike  waterfalls  which 
are  at  all  seasons  beautiful,  and  wiien  swollen  by  the  rains 
of  January  majestic.  Excej)t  wood,  of  which  there  is  un- 
happily nothing  more  than  a  little  sciiib})y  bush  in  the 
sheltered  hollows,  nearly  all  the  elements  of*  beauty  are 
present,  and  the  contrast  between  the  cr:iggy  summits  and 
the  soft,  rich  pasture-  and  corn-lands  which  lie  along  their 
northern  base  gives  rise  to  many  admirable  landscapes. 

Two  hundred  miles  north-northeast  of  Basutoland  the 
great  Quathlamba  Range  rises  in  very  bold  slopes  from  the 


^  I 


'  I 

... 


li' 


i 


•f 


I  1 


T 


il 


'     I 


D2 


IMI'KKHSIONS  OF   SOUTH    AFUICA 


:l 


4 


coast  levels  hcliind  I)«'la<?()a  Hay,  ami  the  scu-nery  of  the 
valleys  aiul  passes  is  said  to  be  extremely  ^'raiid.  Knowin^r 
it,  however,  only  hy  report,  I  will  not  venture  to  deserihe 
it.  Nearly  live  hundred  miles  still  farth<'r  ♦»  the  north,  in 
the  district  called  Maniealand,  already  n''  d  to,  is  a  third 
mountain  re^'ion,  hvss  lofty  than  Hasut<.  .nd,  hut  deriving; 
a  sin^'ular  charm  from  the  dij^nity  and  variety  of  its  moun 
tain  forms.  The  whole  country  is  so  elevated  that  summits 
of  7000  or  even  8000  feet  do  not  produce  any  p'eater  etfect 
upon  the  eye  than  does  lien  Lomond  as  seen  from  Loch 
Lomond,  or  Mount  Washinjifton  from  the  (ilen  House.  liut 
there  is  a  boldness  of  line  about  these  },n'anite  peaks  com- 
parable to  tho.^e  of  the  west  coast  of  Norway  ()r  of  the  finest 
j)arts  of  the  Swiss  Alps.  Some  of  them  rise  in  s.nooth  shafts 
of  apparently  inaccessil)le  rock  ;  others  form  lonuf  ridjjfcs  of 
pinnacles  of  every  kind  of  shape,  specially  strikinji'  when 
they  stand  out  apiinst  the  brilliantly  clear  mornin*;  <>r 
eveninj^  sky.  The  valleys  are  well  wooded,  the  lower  slopes 
covered  with  herbage,  so  the  effect  of  these  wild  peaks  is 
heiyrhtened  bv  the  softness  of  the  surr()un<lin«rs  which  thev 
dominate,  while  at  the  same  time  the  whoh'  landscaj)e  be- 
comes more  complex  and  more  noble  by  the  mingling  of 
such  diverse  elements.  No  scenery  better  deserves  the 
name  of  nmiantic.  And  even  in  the  tamer  parts,  where 
instead  of  mountains  there  are  only  low  hills,  or  "kopjes" 
(as  they  are  called  in  South  Africa),  the  slightly  more  fria})le 
rock  found  in  these  hills  decomposes  under  the  influence 
of  the  weather  into  curiously  picturesque  and  fantastic 
forms,  with  crags  riven  to  their  base,  and  detached  pillars 
su])porting  loo.se  blocks  and  tabular  masses,  among  or  upon 
which  the  timid  Mashonas  have  built  their  huts  in  the  hope 
of  escaping  the  raids  of  their  warlike  enemies,  the  Matabili. 
Though  I  must  admit  that  South  Africa,  taken  as  a  whole, 


ASPECTS  OK   SCKNKUY 


08 


(jffcrs  fur  less  to  attract  tlit'  lover  of  natural  Itcautv  than 
(Iocs  southern  or  western  Hurope  or  the  Paeitic  States  of 
North  America,  tjjcre  are  two  kinds  (►f  ciiarin  which  it  pos- 
sesses in  a  hi^h  dc^i'ee.  One  is  that  of  cohn*.  Monotonous 
as  the  hmdscapes  often  are,  there  is  a  warnith  and  riclmess 
of  tone  about  them  whicii  tills  and  deli^'hts  the  eye.  One 
sees  eoniparatively  little  of  that  whitish-bhu'  liniestonn 
which  so  often  j^ives  a  hard  and  chillini;  aspect  to  the  scen- 
ery of  the  lower  ridges  of  the  Alps  and  of  larp'  parts  of 
the  coasts  of  the  Mediterranean.  In  Africji  even  the  ^'ray 
jfranite  or  gneiss  has  a  (h'cper  tone  than  these  limestones, 
and  it  is  frccjuentlv  covered  l>v  retl  and  vcllow  li«'hens  of 

I  v  «  ft 

wonderful  l)eauty.  The  dark  basalts  and  porphyries  which 
occur  in  many  places,  the  rich  red  tint  which  the  surface 
of  the  sandstone  rocks  often  takes  under  the  scoi'chinj^' 
sun,  f;ive  depth  of  tone  to  the  landscape;  and  thoufxh  the 
fl(M)d  of  midday  sunshine  is  almost  overpowering',  the  lij^hts 
of  morninj^and  evening,  touching  the  mountains  with  every 
shad<'  of  rose  and  crimson  and  violet,  i  e  indeseribablv 
beautiful.  It  is  in  these  morninj^  and  evening  hours  that 
the  charm  of  the  pure,  dry  air  is  s{)ecially  felt.  Mountains 
fifty  or  sixty  miles  away  stand  out  clearly  enough  to  enable 
all  the  wealth  of  their  color  and  all  the  delicacy  of  their 
outlines  to  be  perceived;  and  the  eye  realizes,  by  the 
exquisitely  fine  change  of  tint  between  the  nearer  and 
the  more  distant  ranges,  the  immensity  and  tlu^  harmony 
of  the  landscape.  Europeans  may  think  that  the  contin- 
uous profusion  of  sunlight  during  most  of  the  year  may 
becon)e  wearisome.  I  was  not  long  enough  in  the  country 
to  find  it  so,  and  I  observed  that  those  who  have  lived  for 
a  few  years  in  South  Africa  declare  they  prefer  that  con- 
tinuous profusion  to  the  murky  skies  of  Britain  or  Hol- 
land or  North  Germany.     But  even  if  the  fine  weather 

4* 


1 


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I         ! 


-bi 


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fi  . 


iti 


84 


IMI'KKSSIONS   OF   SOITU    AKHICA 


h 


,1 


■  11 


which  pn'vuils  for  ci^'ht  iiiuiiths  in  thr  yi'iir  be  monot- 
onous, then*  is  coinprnsation  in  tlic  rxtnionlinnrv  hi'il- 
liuncy  of  the  utniosphrric  rtfccts  throu^'hout  thr  rjiiny  sea- 
son, and  esjMM'iuIly  iti  its  first  weeks.  During'  nine  (la\.N 
whieh  I  spent  in  the  Transvaal  at  that  season,  when  sevral 
thunderstorms  oeeurred  almost  every  day,  tla-  eomltina- 
tions  of  sunshine,  li^ditnin^',  and  eloud,  and  the  symphonies 
—  if  the  exj)ression  nuiy  be  permitted  — of  lij^ht  and  shade 
and  color  whicii  their  ehan<;efnl  |)lay  ])i'oduced  in  the  sky 
and  on  the  earth,  were  more  vai'ious  an<l  more  wonderful 
than  a  wiiole  veai'  would  furnish  forth  for  enjovnient  in 
most  parts  of  Kurope. 

Tho  other  pecidiar  charm  which  South  African  scenery 
possesses  is  that  of  jtrimeval  solitude  and  silence.  It  is  a 
<'harm  which  is  ditTerentlv  felt  bv  ditferent  minds.  There 
are  nuiny  who  llnd  the  presence  of  what  Homer  calls  "the 
rich  works  of  men"  es.scntial  to  flu;  jterfeetion  of  a  land- 
scape. Cultivated  tields,  gardens,  and  orchards,  farm- 
houses dotted  here  and  there,  indications  in  one  form  or 
another  of  liun  "u  life  and  labor,  do  not  merely  pve  a 
greater  vari«'ty  to  every  pros])ect.  but  also  impart  an  ele- 
ment which  evokes  the  sense  of  sympathy  with  our  fellow- 
beinjifs,  and  excites  a  whole  j^nuip  of  emotions  which  the 
contemplation  of  nature,  taken  by  itself,  does  not  arouse. 
No  one  is  insensible  to  these  thin«rs,  and  some  iind  little 
delijfht  in  any  scene  from  whicli  they  are  absent.  Yet 
there  are  other  minds  to  whieh  then;  is  something  specially 
solemn  and  impressive  in  the  nnt(mclied  and  primitive 
sim})licity  of  a  country  which  stands  now  just  as  it  came 
from  the  hands  of  the  Creator.  The  seli-suf!icinjjness  of 
nature,  the  insi'jnificance  of  man,  the  mystery  of  a  universe 
which  does  not  exist,  as  our  ancestors  fondly  thought,  for 
the  sake  of  man,  but  for  other  purposes  hidden  from  us 


ASI'KCTS   Ol'   S(  KNKIiV 


and  t'on'Vrr  uiwliscovcmldr  — tli«'s«'  tliiiiirs  arr  mioit  fiiUv 

• 

n'ali/»Ml  aii«l  iiioit  (Icrjdy  I'flt  wliciHUif  ti'av«'rs«'s  a  IxmiikU 
h'ss  wildi'i'iU'ss  wliirli  srt'iiis  tn  have  kimwii  no  cliMiiirt' 
HiiU'V  the  n'in<»t«'  ajrcs  wlini  liill  and  plain  and  \allry  wrrr 
molded  into  the  t(»i'nis  we  s< »'  to-day.  I'N'rlin^'s  of  this 
kind  powrrt'nlly  alTrct  tin-  mind  «d'  flic  tnivrlrr  in  Sontli 
Africa.  They  alTrct  him  in  tlic  Kan-oo,  wlitTr  tin'  .slcndrr 
line  of  rails,  alon^'  which  his  ti-aiii  cn-fps  all  day  and  :dl 
iii«;ht  across  wide  stretches  of  lirown  desert  and  nnder  the 
(M'csts  of  stern,  dark  hills,  seems  to  heii;hten  l»v  contiMst 
the  sense  of  solitude  — a  vast  and  harren  solitude  interposed 
between  the  busy  haunts  of  men  \vhi<*li  he  has  left  behind 
on  the  shoi'cs  of  the  ocean  and  those  still  busier  haunts 
whithei"  he  is  bent,  where  the  pick  and  hammer  sound 
upon  the  Witwatersrand,  ami  the  palpitating''  enirine  draL'"s 
nnisses  of  ore  from  the  depths  of  the  crowded  mine.  They 
affect  him  still  more  in  the  brc«'zv  hiirhlands  of  Matabili- 
hind,  where  the  eye  I'an^^'s  over  an  apparently  endless  suc- 
cession of  undulations  clothed  with  tall  ^'rass  of  wavinir 
wood,  till  they  sink  in  the  blue  <listance  toward  the  i»lain 
through  winch  the  jrreat  Zambesi  takes  its  seaward  course. 
The  wildei'uess  is  indeed  not  wliolly  unpeopled.  Ovei* 
the  wide  surface  (»f  Matabililand  and  ^Inshoimhnul  — an 
urea  of  some  two  humlred  thousand  .scpiare  miles— there 
are  scattered  mitives  of  various  tribes,  whose  numbers  luive 
been  rou^ddy  estinnited  at  from  l.'50,()()0  to  4(H).()()()  per.sons. 
But  one  rarely  sees  a  native  exce])t  alcuii;  n  few  well-beaten 
tracks,  and  still  more  rarely  comes  upon  a  cluster  of  huts  in 
the  woods  ah)nj^'  the  streandets  or  half  hidden  amonu'  the 
fissured  rocks  of  a  p'anite  kopje.  The  chief  traces  of  man's 
presence  in  the  landscape  are  the  narrow  and  windinj;  foot- 
paths whicli  run  lutlier  and  thither  throu<rh  tlie  country, 
and  bewilder  the  traveler  who,  liavinyr  stravt.'d  from  his 


1  \ 


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IMPKESSIUNS   OF   SUUTIi   AFKICA 


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H 


waj?on,  vainly  hopes  l)y  following  them  to  find  his  wpy 
back  to  the  main  traek,  or  the  wreatlis  of  blue  smoke 
which  indicate  the  spot  where  a  Kafir  has  set  the  grass  on 
fire  to  startle  and  kill  the  tinv  creatures  that  dwell  in  it. 

Nothing  is  at  first  more  surprising  to  one  who  crosses  a 
country  inliaT)ited  by  savages  than  the  few  marks  of  their 
presence  which  strike  the  eye,  or  at  least  an  uni»ractised 
eye.  The  little  jdot  of  ground  the  Kafirs  have  cultivated 
is  in  a  few  ',ears  scarcelv  distinguishable  from  the  un- 
touched  surface  of  the  surrounding  land,  while  the  mud- 
built  hut  (piickly  disai)i>ears  under  tiu»  summer  rains  and 
the  scarcelv  less  destructive  efforts  of  the  white  ants. 
Here  in  Houth  Africa  the  native  races  seem  to  liave  nuide 
no  ])rogress  for  centui'ies,  if,  indeed,  they  have  not  actu- 
ally gone  backwjird ;  and  the  feebleness  of  savage  nnin 
intensifies  one's  sense  of  the  ovei'niastering  strength  of 
nature.  The  elephant  and  the  l)uffalo  are  as  nnich  the 
masters  of  the  soil  as  is  the  Kafir,  and  man  has  no  more 
right  to  claim  that  the  land  was  made  for  him  than  have 
the  wild  beasts  of  the  forest  who  roar  after  their  prey  and 
seek  their  mviit  from  (lod. 

These  features  of  South  African  nature,  its  silence,  its 
loneliness,  its  drear  solemnity,  have  not  been  without  their 
influence  upon  the  mind  and  temper  of  the  Euro})ean 
settler.  The  most  peculiar  and  characteristic  type  that 
the  country  has  produced  is  the  Boer  of  the  eastern 
plateau,  the  offs})ring  of  those  Dutch  Africanders  who 
some  sixty  years  ago  wandered  away  from  British  rule 
into  the  wilderness.  These  men  had,  and  their  sons  and 
grandsons  have  retained,  a  passion  for  solitude  that  even 
to-day  makes  them  desire  to  live  many  miles  from  any 
neighbor,  a  sturdy  self-reliance,  a  grim  courage  in  the  face 
of  danger,  a  sternness  from  which  the  native  races  have 


Ah;PP:CTS  OJ^   SCENERY 


57 


often  had  to  suffer.  The  majesty  of  nature  has  not  stimu- 
lated m  tliem  any  poetical  faculty.  But  her  austerity, 
joined  to  the  experiences  of  their  race,  has  contributed  to 
make  tliem  p-ave  and  serious,  cdosely  bound  to  tiieir  an- 
cient forms  of  piety,  and  ])rone  to  deem  themselves  the 
si)ecial  objects  of  divine  protection. 


h 


li 

k 

Part  II  —  A  Sketch  of  South  African  History 


\r 


■  . 


i 


I.' 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  NATIVES:  HOTTENTOTS,  BUSHMEN,  AND  KAFIRS 

BY  far  the  most  interesting  features  in  the  liistory  of 
South  Africa  have  been  the  reUxtions  to  one  another 
of  the  various  races  that  inhabit  it.  There  are  seven  of 
these  races,  three  native  and  four  Euroi)ean.  Tlie  Euro- 
pean races,  two  of  them  especially,  the  Dutch  and  the  Eng- 
lisli,  are,  of  course,  far  stronger,  and  far  Tiu)re  important 
as  political  factors,  than  are  the  natives.  Nevertheless, 
the  natives  have  an  importance  too,  and  one  so  great  that 
their  position  deserves  to  l)e  fulh'  set  forth  and  carefully 
weighed.  For,  though  they  are  inferior  in  every  point 
but  one,  they  are  in  that  point  strong :  they  are  })rolific ; 
they  already  greatly  outnumber  the  whites,  and  they  in- 
crease faster. 

The  cases  of  conflict  or  contact  between  civilized  Euro- 
pean man  and  savage  or  semi-civilized  aboriginal  ])eoples, 
which  have  been  very  numerous  since  the  tide  of  discovery 
began  to  rise  in  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  may  be 
reduced  to  three  classes. 

Tlie  first  of  these  classes  includes  the  cases  where  the 
native  race,  though  perhaps  numerous,  is  comparatively 
weak,  and  unable  to  assimilate  European  ci\'ilization,  or 
to  thrive  under  European  rule  (a  rule  which  has  often 

58 


i-      ! 


THE  NATIVES 


69 


1)0011  luirsh),  or  even  to  survive  iu  the  presence  of  a  Euro- 
pean population  oeeupyin«j:  its  country.  To  this  case  lie- 
lontr  the  extinction  of  the  natives  of  the  Antilles  bv  the 
Spaniards,  the  disai)pearance  of  the  natives  of  Australia 
and  Tasmania  before  British  settlement,  the  dyin^'  out, 
or  retirement  to  a  few  reserved  tracts,  (►f  the  al)orijiines 
who  once  occupied  all  North  America  east  of  tlie  Kocky 
Mountains,  The  Russian  advance  in  Siberia,  the  ad\  ance 
of  Spanish  and  Italian  ami  Gernum  colonists  in  the  terri- 
tories of  La  Plata  in  South  America,  nuiy  be  added  to 
this  class,  for,  thou<j:h  the  phenomena  are  rather  those  of 
absorption  than  of  extinction,  the  result  is  pra(?tically  the 
same.  The  country  bt'comes  European  and  the  native 
races  vanish. 

An  opposite  class  of  cases  arises  where  Europeans  have 
con<iuered  a  country  already  filled  by  a  more  or  less  civi- 
lized population,  which  is  so  numerous  and  so  prolific  as 
to  maintain  itself  with  ease  in  their  presence.  Such  a  case 
is  the  British  conquest  of  India.  The  Europeans  in  India 
are,  and  must  remain,  a  mere  handful  amonj;^  the  many 
millions  of  industrious  natives,  who  already  constitute,  in 
many  districts,  a  population  almost  too  numerous  for  the 
resour(;es  of  the  country  to  support.  Moreover,  the  climate 
is  one  in  which  a  pure  European  race  speedily  dwiiulles 
away.  The  j)osition  <)f  the  Dutch  in  Java,  and  of  the 
French  in  Indo-China,  is  shnilar ;  and  the  French  in  ^lada- 
g^ascar  will  doubtless  present  another  instance. 

Between  these  two  extremes  lies  a  third  jjroup  of  cases 
— those  in  which  the  native  race  is,  on  the  one  hand, 
numerous  and  strong?  enough  to  maintain  itself  in  the  face 
of  Europeans,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  j)lenty  of 
room  left  for  a  considerable  European  population  to  press 
in,  climatic  conditions  not  forbidding  it  to  spread  and 


I 


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IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


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multiply.  To  this  jjronp  belong  siioh  colonizations  ns 
those  of  tho  Spjinijirds  in  Mexico  and  Peru,  of  the  Kussians 
hi  i>arts  of  Central  Asia,  of  the  French  in  Algeria,  of  the 
Spaniards  in  the  Canary  Isles,  and  of  the  Enjilish  and 
Americans  in  Hawaii.  In  all  these  countries  the  new  race 
and  the  old  race  can  hotli  live  and  thrive,  neither  of  them 
killiu}^  oft"  or  crowdin«?  out  the  other,  thoujjfh  in  some,  as 
in  Hawaii,  the  natives  tend  to  disappear,  while  in  others, 
as  in  Algeria,  the  immigrants  do  not  much  increase. 
Sometimes,  as  in  the  C'anarv  Ishs  and  Mexico,  the  two 
elements  hlend,  the  native  element  being  usually  more 
numerous,  though  less  advan(!ed ;  and  a  mixed  race  is 
formed  by  intermarriage.  Sometimes  they  remain,  and 
seem  likelv  to  remain,  as  distinct  as  oil  is  from  watei*. 

South  Africa  belongs  to  this  third  class  of  cases.  The 
Dutch  and  the  English  find  the  country  a  good  one.  There 
is  plenty  of  huid  for  them.  They  enjoy  the  clinnite.  They 
thrive  and  multijily.  But  they  do  not  oust  the  natives, 
except  sometimes  from  the  ))est  lands,  and  the  contact 
does  not  reduce  the  number  of  tho  latter.  The  native— 
that  is  to  say,  the  mitive  of  the  Kafir  race— not  merely 
holds  his  ground,  but  increases  far  more  rapidly  than  he 
did  before  Eurojieans  came,  because  tne  Europeans  have 
checked  intertril)al  wars  and  the  slaughter  of  the  tribesmen 
by  the  chiefs  and  their  wizards,  and  also  because  the  Eu- 
ropeans have  opened  up  new  kinds  of  employment.  As, 
therefore,  the  mitive  will  certainly  remain,  and  will,  indeed, 
probably  continue  to  be  in  a  vast  majority,  it  is  vital  to  a 
comprehen''ion  of  South  African  problems  tc  know  what 
he  has  been  and  may  be  expected  to  become. 

The  native  races  are  three,  and  the  differences  between 
them  are  marked,  being  differences  not  only  of  physical 
appearance  and  of  language,  but  also  of  character,  habits, 


THE   NATIVES 


01 


r 


and  ^rade  of  oivilization.  Tlu'sc  tliret-  are  tlic  Bnslimeii, 
th(^  Hottentots,  and  those  Bantu  tribes  whom  we  call 
Kafirs. 

Tlie  Buslnnen  were,  to  all  apju'sirance,  the  first  on  the 
jjronnd,  the  real  aboriirines  of  South  Afri<'a.  They  are 
one  of  the  lowest  races  to  l)e  found  anvwhere,  as  low  as 
the  Fuejrians  or  the  "black  fellows"  of  Australia,  thou«?h 
perhaps  not  <[uite  so  low  as  the  Veddahs  of  ('eyh)n  or  the 
now  extinct  natives  of  Tasmania.  Thev  seem  to  have 
l)e(Mi  orijjfinally  scattered  over  all  South  Africa,  from  the 
Zaml)esi  to  th<'  Cape,  and  so  late  as  eighty  yrars  aj^o  were 
almost  the  only  iidiabitants  of  Basutoland,  where  now 
none  of  them  are  left.  They  were  noujads  of  the  most 
primitive  type,  neither  tillin<i^  the  soil  nor  owning  cattle, 
but  livin«;  on  such  wild  creatures  as  they  could  catch  oi* 
smite  with  their  poisoned  airows,  and,  when  these  failed, 
upon  wild  fruits  and  the  roots  of  ])lants.  Foi-  the  tra<'k- 
injjr  and  trap])ing'  of  ^ame  they  had  a  m.arvelous  faculty, 
such  as  neither  the  other  races  nor  any  EurojH'an  could 
equal.  But  they  had  no  orpmization.  not  even  a  tribal 
one,  for  tlu'v  wandered  a])out  in  snudl  £rron])s  ,  and  no 
relijifion  l)eyond  some  vaijue  notion  of  lihosts  and  of 
s])irits  inhabiting?  or  connected  with  natural  objects ;  while 
their  lan«i'ua^e  was  a  succession  of  clicks  interrupted  by 
j?runts.  Very  low  in  stature,  and  possibly  coynate  to 
the  pyirniies  whom  ]Mr.  H.  ]M.  Stanley  fouiul  in  (^entral 
Africa,  they  were  capable  of  eiulurinu'  p'eat  fatigue  and 
of  vravelinfr  very  swiftlv.  Untamably  fierce  unless  cauufht 
in  childhood,  and  incapable  of  accustoming  themselves  to 
<'ivilized  life,  driven  out  of  some  districts  by  the  Euroj)ean 
settlers,  wlio  were  often  forced  to  shoot  them  down  in  self- 
defense,  and  in  other  regions  no  long(»ral)le  to  find  support 
owing  to  the  disappearance  of  the  ganu',  they  are  now  al- 


ii 
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IMI'liESSlONS  OF   SOUTH   AFUIt'A 


most  oxtiiu't,  t]ion<j:]i  a  few  remain  in  tlie  Kalnlinri  Desert 
jnid  the  adjoininj^'  j)arts  (►f  nortliern  Beehuanaland  and 
western  hiatal >ililjind,  toward  Lake  Xjrami.  I  saw  at  the 
Kimherh'V  mines  two  or  three  dwarf  natives  wlio  were  said 
to  liave  liusliman  bhxtd  in  them,  bnt  it  is  no  lonj;:er  easy 
to  find  in  the  Colony  a  jmiit  sj)eeimen.  Before  many  years 
tlie  onlv  trace  of  tlieir  existence  will  be  in  the  remarkable 
drawincjfsof  wild  animals  with  which  they  delijjhted  to  cover 
the  smooth  tuirfaces  of  sheltered  rocks.  These  drawings, 
which  are  found  all  the  way  from  the  Zambesi  to  the  Cape, 
and  from  ]Manicaland  westward,  are  executed  in  red  and 
Yellow  pigments,  and  are  often  full  of  spirit.  Kude,  of 
course,  they  are,  but  tliey  often  convey  the  asjject,  and 
especially  the  characteristic  attitude,  of  the  animal  with 
great  fidelity. 

The  second  native  rsice  was  that  which  the  Dutch  (tailed 
Hottentot,  and  whom  the  Portuguese  explorers  found 
(K'cupying  the  maritime  region  in  the  southwest  corner  of 
the  continent,  to  the  east  and  to  the  north  of  the  Cape  of 
(lood  Hope.  They  are  sui)posed  to  have  come  from  the 
north  and  dispossessed  the  Bushmen  of  the  grassy  coast 
lands,  driving  them  into  the  more  arid  interior.  But  of 
this  there  is  no  evidence ;  and  some  have  even  fancied  tliat 
the  Hottentot  race  itself  ^♦lay  have  been  a  mixed  one, 
produced  by  intermarriage  between  Bushmen  and  Kafirs. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  the  Hottentots  were  superior  to  the 
Bushtnen  both  physically  and  intellectually.  They  were 
small  men,  but  not  pygmies,  of  a  reddish  or  yellowish 
black  hue,  with  no  great  muscular  power  in  tlieir  slender 
frames.  Their  hair,  very  short  and  woolly,  grew,  like  that 
of  the  Bushmen,  in  small  balls  or  tufts  over  the  skull, 
just  as  grass-tufts  grow  separate  from  one  another  in  the 
drier  parts  of  the  veldt.     They  possessed  saeep  and  also 


, 

1  r. 

11 

1 

t 

1- 

ji 

1 

■!| 

L 

THE   NATIVES 


63 


cattle,  It'jii.  l»t'asts  with  hu<r<'  horns;  and  tliev  roved  liitlier 
and  thitlior  osor  tlu'  conntrv  as  tliov  conkl  lind  pastnro 
for  their  animals,  doin^  u  little  hnntinir,  l>nt  not  attempts 
in<jj  to  till  the  soil,  and  iinae([uainted  with  the  nietals. 
Livini;  in  tribes  under  their  chiefs,  they  fouuht  a  little  witli 
one  another,  and  a  ^'reat  deal  witli  the  Hushinen,  who  tried 
to  prey  upon  theii*  cattle.  They  were  a  thoufrhtless, 
cheerful,  j^'ood-uatured,  merry  sort  of  people,  whom  it  was 
not  dit!icult  to  domesticate  as  servants,  and  their  relations 
with  the  Dutch  settlers,  in  spite  of  two  wars,  were,  on  the 
whole,  friendlv.  Within  a  centurv  after  the  foundation 
of  Cape  Colony,  their  numbers,  never  lar«j:e,  had  vastly 
diminished,  partly  from  the  occupation  by  the  colonists 
of  their  best  p*azing-grounds,  l)ut  still  more  from  the 
ravages  of  smallpox  and  other  epidemics,  which  ships 
touching  on  their  way  from  the  East  Indies  brouglit  into 
the  country.  In  a.  D.  171)}  whole  tribes  perished  in  this 
way.  I  speak  of  the  H()ttentots  in  the  i)ast  tense,  for  they 
are  now,  as  a  distinct  race,  almost  extinct  in  the  Colony, 
although  a  good  deal  of  their  blood  has  j)assed  into  the 
mixed  colored  population  of  Ca])e  Town  and  its  neighbor- 
hood—a poj)uhition  the  other  elements  of  which  are  ^lalays 
from  the  Dutch  East  Indies,  and  the  descendants  of  slaves 
brouglit  from  the  west  coast  of  Africa  in  the  seventeenth 
and  eighteenth  centuries.  From  unions  between  H(>tten- 
tot  women  and  the  Dutch  sprang  the  mixed  race  whom 
the  Dutch  call  Bastards  and  the  English  Griquas,  and  who, 
though  now  dying  out  like  the  Frencli-and-Lidian  half- 
breeds  of  western  Canada,  played  at  one  time  a  consider- 
able part  in  colonial  politics.  Along  the  south  bank  of  the 
Orange  River  and  to  the  north  of  it,  in  Great  Namacjualand, 
snuill  tribes,  substantially  identical  with  the  Hottentots, 
still  wander  over  the  arid  wilderness.     But  in  the  settled 


.  I 

I 


\  III 


'■< 


1 


'-i- 


ik 


C4 


IMT'UESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRirA 


:( 


V 


J    l"' 


juirts  of  tlio  Colony  the  ITottontot,  of  whom  we  used  to  honr 
soinuch,andwlioiii  tlic  l*ortii^iU'se,r('inemht'rinjr  the  doatli 
of  tho  viceroy  IVAhiieiihi  (w)io  was  kilh'd  in  a  skirmish  in 
1510),  atono  time  feared  so  miieli,  lias  vanislied  more  eom- 
])letoly  tlian  lias  tlie  Red  Indian  from  the  Atlantic  States  of 
North  America.  And  the  extinction  or  absorption  of  the 
few  renniininj^  nomads  will  probably  follow  at  no  distant 
date. 

Very  different  hav(^  been  the  fortnnes,  verv  ditferent 
are  the  pros})ects,  of  the  third  and  far  more  nnmerons 
Sonth  African  rtiM',  those  whom  we  call  Katirs,  and  who 
call  themselves  Abantn  or  Bantn  ("the  peoi)le").  The 
word  ''  Kafir"  is  Arabic.  It  has  n<>thin^  to  do  with  Monnt 
Kaf  (the  Caneasns),  bnt  means  an  inlidel  (literally,  ''one 
who  denies"),  and  is  a})j)lied  by  Mnssnlmans  not  merely 
to  these  people,  bnt  to  other  heathen  also,  as,  foi-  instance, 
to  the  idolaters  of  Kafiristan,  in  the  Ilindn-Kush  ^lonn- 
tains.  The  Portn«;uese  donbtless'  M)k  the  name  from  the 
Arabs,  whom  they  fonnd  established  at  several  points  on 
the  East  African  coast  northward  from  Sofala.  and  the 
Dntcfli  took  it  from  the  Portuffuese,  tofjfether  Avith  snch 
words  as  "kraal"  (<'orral)  and  "assajifai."  The  Bantu 
tribes,  if  one  may  include  under  that  name  all  the  blacks 
who  speak  lanjfuajxes  of  the  same  jjeneral  tyi)e,  occupy 
the  whole  of  East  Africa  soutlnvard  from  the  Ui)per  Nile, 
where  that  river  issues  from  the  jrreat  Nyanza  lakes,  to- 
gether with  the  Conp^o  basin  and  most  of  Southwest  Af- 
rica. They  include  various  cfroups,  such  as  the  Amakosa 
tribes  (to  which  belong  the  Tembus  and  Pondos),who  oc- 
cupy the  coast  of  Ca})e  Colony  eastward  from  the  Great 
Fish  River ;  the  Amazulu  ^roup,  consisting  of  the  Zulus 
proper  (in  Natal  and  Zululand),  the  Swazis,  the  Matabili, 
farther  to  the  north,  and  the  Angoni,  in  Nyassaland,  be- 


I'l 


TIIK   NATIVES 


60 


ono 


yond  tlio  Zambesi  River;  tlio  Aiiiaton^a  ^roup,  botweiMi 
Zululaml  au«l  Drla^oa  Hay;  tlu'  Hrcliuaiia  ^'I'oup,  iufiiul- 
inj,'  tilt'  Banian.u'wato,  tlie  Hasutos,  and  tlie  Har<)luii«?s,  as 
well  as  the  liarotsc,  far  otl'  (»ii  tiu'  middle  course  of  the 
Zambesi;  the  Makalaka  oi*  the  Maholis,  inhabitinj,'  Ma- 
slioualaiid  ami  ^laiiiealand.  The  liui^uistie  and  ethnical 
allinities  of  thes«'  jrr<»ni»s  and  trilK's  are  still  vei'v  imj»er- 
fectly  known,  but  their  spet'ch  and  their  habits  are  sutli- 
(tiently  sinular  to  enable  us  to  refer  them  to  one  type,  just 
as  we  do  the  Finnic  o'*  the  Slavonic  }>eoj»lcs  in  JMirope. 
And  thev  are  even  nior*'  nuirkedlv  unlike  the  Hottentots 
or  the  liushmen  than  the  Slavs  are  to  the  Finns,  or  both 
of  these  to  those  interestinj^  aborigines  of  n«)rlhern  Fu- 
rojie,  the  Lap})S. 

The  liautu  or  Kalii's— I  use  the  terms  as  svnonvmous 
—  who  dwell  south  of  the  Zand)esi  are  usuallv  stroni;  and 
well-nnide  men,  not  below  the  averaj^e  heijrht  of  a  Furo- 
pean.  In  ccdor  they  vary  a  jjjood  deal ;  some  are  as  black 
asadulf  of  Guinea  ne<j:ro,  some  rather  brown  than  l>lack. 
All  have  the  thick  lips,  the  woolly  hair,  and  the  scanty 
beard  of  the  nejjfro,  and  nearly  all  the  broad,  low  nose; 
yet  in  some  the  nose  is  fairly  hitrh,  and  the  east  of  features 
sugjjfests  an  admixture  of  Senutic  blood  — an  tidmixture 
which  could  be  easily  explained  by  the  presence,  from  a 
pretty  remote  time,  of  Arab  settlers,  as  well  as  traders, 
along  the  coast  of  the  Indian  Ocean.  As  the  liantu  vary  in 
aspect,  so  do  they  also  in  intelligence.  No  tribe  is  in  this 
respect  conspicuously  su})erior  to  any  other,  though  the 
Zulus  show  more  courage  in  fight  than  most  of  the  others, 
the  Fingos  more  aptitude  for  trade,  the  Basutos  more 
dis])osition  to  steady  industry.  But,  while  the  general 
level  of  intellect  is  below  that  of  the  Red  Indians  or  the 
Maoris  or  the  Hawaiians  (if  clearly  above  that  of  the  Guinea 


fi 


'I 


■'    I 


;  I 


.    I 


1« 


(5(5 


<    1/ 


I'r 


II  1 


iMi'UE.SSlONS  OF   SOUTH   AFHICA 


iicj^n'ocs),  individuals  arc  now  and  tlu-n  four.d  of  (Consider- 
able talents  and  ^reat  force  of  eliaraeter.  Tiirec  such  men 
as  the  Zulu  Tshaka,  the  liasuto  Moshesli,  and  the  liechuaiui 
Khania,  not  to  sfteak  of  tliosc  wlio,  like  the  el()(|uent  niis- 
si(»nai'y  Tiyo  Si»pi,  have  received  a  regular  Ivi'-'-jican 
education,  ai'c  sutlicient  to  show  the  capacity  of  the  I'ace 
for  occasionally  reaching;  a  standai'd  which  whit«'  men 
must  respect.  And  in  one  re}j:ard  the  liantu  race  shows 
a  kind  of  stren^dh  which  the  Ked  Iiuliansand  Polynesians 
hick.  They  are  a  very  prolific  jx'ople,  .ind  under  the  condi- 
tions of  jteace  which  European  rule  secures  they  multi]ily 
with  a  rapidity  which  solium  deem  alarniin<r. 

How  lonj;  the  vari>...s  Hantu  tribes  have  Itecn  in  S(»uth 
Afri(*a  is  a  (pu'stion  on  which  no  lifrht  has  yet  been  thrown, 
or  can,  indeed,  be  exjH'cted.  Some  of  tliem  have  a  va^ie 
tradition  that  tli(?y  eanu^  frcmi  the  north  ;  but  the  recol- 
le(Uioiis  of  savajjjes  seldom  p)  back  more  than  five  or  six 
^fenerations,  and  retain  little  except  the  exploits  or  the 
jjenealojry  of  some  conspicuous  chief.  When  the  Portu- 
jjjuese  arrived  in  the  eiul  of  the  fifteenth  century,  they 
f;)nnd  Kafirs  already  inhabitinix  tiie  eountrv  from  Natal 
northward.  But  apparently  they  did  not  then  extend  as 
far  to  the  west  of  Natal  as  they  do  now,  and  there  is  reason 
to  think  that  considerable  parts  of  the  interior,  such  as  the 
region  which  is  now  the  Oranp^e  Free  State  and  Basutoland, 
were  not  yet  occupied,  but  left  to  the  wandering  Bushmen. 
The  Kafirs  were  then,  and  continued  down  to  our  own  time, 
in  a  state,  of  incessant  tribal  warfare ;  and  from  time  to 
time  one  martial  tribe,  under  a  forceful  chief,  would  ex- 
terminate or  chase  awav  some  weaker  elan  and  reduce 
wide  areas  to  a  wilderness.  Of  any  large  conquests,  or  of 
any  steady  progi*ess  in  the  arts  either  of  war  or  of  peace, 
there  is  no  record,  and,  indeed,  in  the  general  darkness, 


f 


''ll' 


TllK   NATIVKS 


•T 


IK)  triKM'.  Tlic  liistorv  of  tin-  native  nicos,  so  far  as  ascrr- 
taiiialdc,  Ix'tjfins  with  tlu*  advent  of  the  \vhit»'S,  and  even 
after  their  advent  I'eniains  extrenielv  shadowy  nntil.  early 
in  this  century,  the  «»n\vard  march  of  setth-nient  «rave  thr 
bnteh  and  Knulish  setth-rs  the  means  of  heeondng  better 
ae(|uainted  witli  their  l»hiek  neii,dd>oi's. 

Across  tliis  (hirkness  there  strikes  <»ne  ray  of  li^lit.  It 
is  a  very  faint  rav,  hut  in  tlie  absence  of  all  other  li'dit  it. 
is  precious.  It  is  that  which  is  supjdied  by  the  |»rehistoric 
I'uins  and  the  aban«h)ned  <;old-workinu:s  of  Maslionaland. 


,1  I. 


Iv 


|:t 


*tl 


<i 


T 


niAITKK   TX 

OUT   OF   THK    DAKKNKSS- ZIMHAHWYE 

II  I'j  ruined  hiiildiii^s  «>!'  MmsIidiijiIiiikI  and  M.'ttabililand 
liavo  excited  in  t'c'ent  years  an  amount  of  interest 
and  curiosity  whi<*li  is  dis|)ro{M»i'ti(Huite  to  their  lunnber, 
size,  and  ])eauty,  but  by  no  nu'ans  disproitortioiuite  to  tiieir 
vabu'  as  })einj^  the  only  record,  scant  as  it  is,  we  possess  of 
what  has  been  deemed  an  early  South  African  civilization. 
I  will  desi^ribe  in  the  fewest  words  sueli  of  th«'se  buihlinjrs 
ns  I  saw,  leavin*^  the  reaih-r  of  archu'oloj^ical  tastes  to  iind 
fuller  details  in  the  well-known  book  of  that  enlerpi'isin^  ex- 
ph)rer,  Mr.  Theodore  Bent.'  Some  short  account  of  them 
seems  all  the  more  needed,  becau.so  the  fir.st  de.scri})tions 
published  gave  the  impression  that  they  were  far  more 
considerable  than  thev  reallv  are. 

Scattered  over  the  jdateau  of  southern  Mashonalandand 
Matabililand,  from  its  mountainous  "^<;e  on  the  east  to  the 
nei<;hl)orhood  of  Tati  on  the  west,  there  are  to  be  found 
frag'nients  of  walls  built  of  small  blocks  of  granite  re- 
sembling t)aving-stones  (usually  about  a  foot  long  by  six 
inches  high,  but  often  larger),  not  cit  smooth,  but  chi})i)ed 
or  trimmed  to  a  fairlv  uniform  size.  These  walls  are 
without   mortar   or  other   (cementing   material,  but   the 

'  Unhappily  lost  to  science  by  premature  death  siuce  the  above 
lines  were  written. 

68 


)  ■  I 


i: 


ULT   OK   Tin:    DAKKNKSS-ZIMMAUWVK 


«ll> 


htoiu's  an'  so  nrutlv  mI  toL'itliti-.  nihl  the  wall  usiiallv 
HO  tliick,  that  the  stiMicturc  is  «'(»iiij»a<-t  and  <'(»lM'.si\c. 
riic  walls  arc  mostly  thiiiiicr  at  the  top  tlian  at  tin*  Itasc. 
riic  only  ornaiiitMitatioii  ciuisists  in  plai'ln^'  some  of  the 
layrrs  jit  an  acute  anj^Mf  to  the  otliti-  layrrs  altovr  and 
liclow,  NO  as  to  produce  what  is  called  the  lien"In^-h<.nc 
j)attern.  Oeeasioiially  a  dilTerent  pattern  is  ohtained  Ity 
leaviii}^  spaces  at  intervals  Ix-tween  the  horizontal  stones 
of  certain  layers,  nwikinj;  a  kind  of  diaper.  In  some  cases 
this  <M"namentation,  always  very  simple,  uccui-s  oidy  on  one 
part  of  the  wall,  and  it  has  been  said  that  it  occurs  usually 
if  not  invariably  on  tlie  part  which  faces  the  east.  I  heard 
of  ten  oi"  twelve  such  pie<'cs  of  wall  in  dilTei'cnt  parts 
of  the  i»lateau,  and  saw  photoj^raplis  of  most  of  tiiese. 
Prohalily  others  exist,  tor  Tnany  districts,  especially  in  the 
liills,  have  been  imperfectly  explored,  and  tree.»<  easily  c(»n- 
et'iil  these  low  erections.  One  was  described  to  me,  where 
the  walls  are  the  t'a<'in}^s  of  seven  terraces,  i-isin^one  al»ove 
another  to  n  sort  of  platform  on  the  toj).  This  I  have  not 
seen  ;  but  it  is  [jrobably  similar  to  one  which  I  did  see  and 
examine  at  a  ]tlace  called  Dhlodhlo,  about  fifty  miles  sonth- 
east  of  Hulawayo.  This  f^roup  of  ruins,  one  of  the  most 
interestinjj:  in  the  country,  stan<ls  hiuh  amon^'"  rock\  liills, 
from  which  a  superb  view  is  gained  over  the  wide  stretdu's 
of  rollinj;  table-land  to  the  north  and  northwest,  a  charm- 
ing situation  which  mi^dit  have  attracted  the  old  builders 
did  thev  possess  anv  sense  of  beaut  v.  On  u  low  eminence 
there  has  been  erected  such  a  wall  of  liiieli  liewn,  or  rather 
trimmed,  stones  as  I  have  just  des',  ribed.  It  is  now  alxait 
twenty  feet  in  hei<;ht,  and  may  liavt  ori^nnally  lieen  l.i^dier. 
On  the  eastern  side  this  wall  consists  of  three  })arts,  each 
about  six  feet  high,  with  two  narrow  terrain's,  each  from 
live  to  six  feet  wide,  between  them,  the  second  wall  rising 


!-•«> 


;l 


f 


T  n, 


■  I 

V 

iii 
•II 


I    . 


8 


n\ 


.   ! 


70 


IMl'UKSSIONS   OF   80UTII   AFRICA 


from  the  first  torraco,  and  the  tliird  or  lii«rliost  wall  from 
the  St  coud  terrace.  On  tliis  .side  some  of  the  .stone  oonr.ses 
have  *he  simple  forms  of  ornamental  pattern  already  men- 
tioned. On  the  oi)p(»site,  or  western  and  northwestern,  side 
only  one  terraee  and  a  low,  unornamented  wall  of  trimmed 
stones  are  now  diseernible.  To  the  north,  still  withhi  what 
seems  to  have  been  the  main  inelo.sin<2:  wall,  are  small  in- 
elosnres  l)uilt  of  trimmed  stone,  whieh  may  have  been 
<'.liambers  originally  roofed  with  wood  or  bushes.  At  the 
top  of  the  liirhest  wall  there  is  at  tlie  north-northwest 
end  a  small  level  platform  of  earth  or  rub])le,  wliieh 
seems  to  liave  been  lilled  in  l)ehind  the  terraeed  walls. 
Tliis  platform  is  approaehed  by  a  narrow  passaj^e  between 
walls  of  trimmed  stone,  at  one  i)oint  in  whieh  there  ap- 
pears to  have  been  a  sort  of  narrow  gateway  barely  wide 
enough  for  tvv'o  persons  to  pass.  There  is  no  trace  of  any 
stom3  building  on  the  top  of  the  platform,  and  the  remains 
of  clay  huts  which  one  finds  there  may  well  be  quite 
modern.  To  the  south  of  this  principal  structure  there  is 
a  second  small  hill  or  boss  of  granite,  ju'otected  on  three 
sides  by  steep  sheets  of  granite  rock.  Its  top  is  inclosed 
by  a  low  Widl  of  trimmed  stones,  now  in  places  ({uite 
broken  away,  with  no  trace  of  any  stone  building  within. 
Ail  round  on  the  lower  ground  are  large  inclosures  rudely 
built  of  rough  stones,  and  probably  intended  for  cattle- 
kraals.  They  may  be  quite  modern,  and  they  throw  no 
light  on  the  purpose  of  the  ancient  buildings.  Nor  is 
much  light  to  be  obtained  from  the  objects  which  have 
been  found  in  the  ruins.  When  I  was  there  thev  were 
being  searched  by  the  Mashonaland  Ancient  Ruins  Ex- 
I)loration  Company,  a  company  authorized  by  the  British 
Soutli  Africa  Company  to  dig  and  scrape  in  the  ancient 
buildings  of  the  country  for  gold  or  whatever  else  of 


M;i 


I'l  '  . 


OUT   OK   THE   DAKKNESS-ZIMBABWYE 


71 


value  may  be  then?  (liso(>vera])le,  an  enterj)rise  wliieli, 
thouirh  it  may  accelerate  the  progress  of  archipoloirical  in- 
quiry, obviously  recjuires  to  be  conducted  with  jrreat  care 
and  by  competent  persons.  So  far  as  I  could  o]»servc,  all 
due  care  was  being  used  l)y  the  gentleman  in  charge  of  the 
work  at  Dhlodhlo  ;  but  considering  how  easy  it  is  to  oblit- 
erate the  distinctive  features  of  a  ruin  and  leave  it  in  a 
condition  unfavorable  to  future  examination,  it  seems  de- 
sirable that  the  company  should,  as  a  rule,  await  the 
arrival  of  trained  archa'olou'ists  rather  than  hurrv  on 
explorations  by  anuiteurs,  however  zealous  and  well 
intentioned.  Of  the  objects  found,  whicli  were  cour- 
teously shown  to  me,  some  are  moch'rn,  such  as  the 
bits  of  pottery,  apparently  Indian  or  Chinese,  the  bits 
of  glass,  the  bullets  and  fragments  of  flint-lock  muskets, 
a  small  cannon,  and  an  iron  hammer.  These  are  doubtless 
of  Portuguese  origin,  tlumgh  it  does  not  follow  that  any. 
Portuguese  exi)edition  ever  penetrated  so  far  inland,  for 
they  nuiy  have  been  gifts  or  purchases  from  the  Portu- 
guese established  on  the  coast  f(mr  or  five  huiulred  miles 
away.  So,  too,  the  silver  and  copj)er  ornaments  found, 
and  some  of  the  gold  ones  (occasionally  alloyed  with  cop- 
l)er).  which  show  i)atterns  api)arently  Portuguese,  may  be 
recent.  There  are  also,  however,  some  gold  ornaments, 
such  as  beads,  bangles  (a  skeleton  was  found  with  })angles 
on  the  legs  and  a  bead  ne<^klace),  and  pieces  of  twisted  gold 
wire,  whicli  may  be  far  more  ancient,  and  indeed  as  old  as 
the  structure  itself.  A  snudl  crucible  with  nuggets  and 
snudl  l)its  of  gold  goes  to  indicate  that  smelting  was  cai-- 
ried  on,  though  the  nearest  ancient  gold-workings  are  six 
miles  distant.  Probably  here,  as  at  Hissarlik  and  at 
Carthage,  there  exist  renuiins  from  a  long  succession  of 
centuries,  the  spot  having  been  occujued  from  remote 


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72 


IMPRESSIONS   OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


anti(inity.'  At  present  it  is  not  only  nninliabited,  but  re- 
garded bv  tlie  natives  with  fear.  Thev  believe  it  to  be 
haunte<l  by  the  ghosts  of  the  departed,  and  are  unwilling, 
except  in  the  daytime  and  for  wages  paid  by  the  explora- 
tion eonipany,  to  touch  or  even  to  enter  the  ruins.  They  can 
hardly  be  persuaded  even  to  relate  such  traditions  as  exist 
regarding  the  place.  All  that  has  been  gathered  is  that  it 
was  the  dwelling  of  a  line  of  nnfmhos,  or  chiefs,  the  last  of 
whom  w^as  burned  here  by  Mosilikatze,  the  Matabili  king, 
when  he  conquered  the  country  sixty  years  ago.  (The 
place  does  show  marks  (jf  fire.)  But  the  buildings  were 
here  long  liefore  the  mambos  reigned,  and  who  built  them, 
or  whv,  no  om^  knows.  The  natives  come  sometinu'S  to 
make  offerings  to  ancestral  ghosts,  especijdly  when  they 
ask  for  success  in  hunting;  and  if  the  hunt  be  successful 
strips  of  meat  are  cut  off  and  placed  in  cleft  sticks  for  the 
benefit  of  the  ghosts. 

Three  hy])otheses  have  l)een  advanced  regarding  the 
Dhlodhlo  buildings.  One  regards  them  as  a  fortress. 
The  obje(;tion  to  this  is  that  the  terraced  and  ornamented 
wall  is  so  far  from  contributing  to  defense  that  it  actuallv 
facilitates  attack ;  for,  by  the  help  of  the  terraces  and  of 
the  interstices  among  the  stones  which  the  ornamental 
pattern  sup])lies,  .in  active  man  could  easily  scale  it  in 
front.  Moreover,  tliere  is  hard  by,  to  the  north,  a  higher 
and  more  abrupt  hill  which  would  have  offered  a  far  bet- 
ter site  for  a  fort.  The  second  view  is  that  Dhlodhlo  was  a 
mining  station,  where  slaves  were  kept  at  work ;  but  if  so, 

1  Mr.  Xoal,  managiiifj  director  of  the  oompany,  lias  been  jjood 
enoui.^li  to  inform  me  that  sinee  my  visit  he  satisfied  himself  that 
there  had  been  occupations  by  different  races  and  probably  at  widely 
distant  dates.  Many  skeletons  have  been  fonnd,  with  a  good  deal 
of  gold  jewelry,  and  some  bronze  implements. 


OUT   OF   THK   DAl^KNKiSS-ZIMHAHWYE  ?:? 

why  was  it  not  placed  near  tlie  old  ^old-workinjjs  instead 
of  some  miles  off,  and  of  what  use  were  the  terraced 
walls?  The  inquirer  is  therefore  led  to  the  third  view- 
that  the  building;  was  in  some  way  connected  with  reli- 
^'ums  worship,  and  that  the  ornament  whi(?h  is  seen  alonp 
the  eastern  wall  was  placed  there  with  some  relifjions  mo- 
tive. There  is,  however,  nothing  whatever  to  indicate  the 
nature  of  that  worshi]),  nor  the  ra(M»  that  practised  it.  for 
no  objects  of  a  possibly  religious  character  (such  as  those 
I  shall  presently  mention  at  Zimhabwye)  have  l>een  found 
here. 

I  visited  a  second  ruin  among  the  mountidns  of  Mashona- 
land,  near  the  Lezapi  liiver,  at  a  })lace  called  Chipadzi's 
grave,  a  mile  from  the  kraal  of  a  chief  named  ('hii)unza. 
Here  a  rocky  granite  koi)je,  almost  inaccessible  on  two 
sides,  is  protected  on  one  of  the  other  sides  by  a  neatly 
built  wall  of  well-trimmed  stones,  similar  to  that  at 
Dhlodhlo,  but  without  oi-nament.  The  piece  that  remains 
is  some  fifty  yards  long,  five  feet  thick  at  the  base,  and 
eleven  feet  high  at  its  highest  point.  It  is  obviously  a  wall 
of  defense,  for  the  onlv  erections  within  are  low,  roucrh  in- 
closures  of  loose  stones,  and  three  clay  huts,  one  of  which 
covers  the  grave  of  Chipadzi,  a  chief  who  died  some  twenty 
years  ago,  and  who  was  doubtless  inten-cd  here  because  the 
place  was  secluded  and  already  in  a  fashion  consecrated  by 
the  presence  of  the  ancient  wall.  That  the  wall  is  ancient 
hardly  admits  of  doubt,  for  it  is  quite  unlike  any  of  the 
walls— there  are  not  manvin  the  countrv— which  the  Kafirs 
now  build,  these  being  always  of  .stones  entirely  untrimmed 
and  very  loosely  fitted  together,  though  sometimes  plast<'i'ed 
with  mud  to  make  them  hold.'     There  is  nothing  to  se<' 

^  This  place  is  descriTted  by  Mr.  Solous  in  his  iiiterestinpj  Imok,  "A 
Hunter's  Wanderings  in  Africa,"  pp.  339-341.     He  thinks  the  wall 


\l 


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I 


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LMPKESSIONS   OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


i    fi 


beyond  the  wall  itself,  and  tlie  only  interest  of  the  plaoe  is 
in  its  showin*,'  that  the  raee  who  built  ]>hlodlilo  and  other 
similar  walls  in  ]Matabililand  were  probably  here  also. 

Much  lar<j:er  and  more  remarkable  is  the  group  of  ruins 
(situated  seventeen  miles  from  Fort  Victoria,  in  southern 
jNIashonaland)  which  goes  by  the  name  of  the  Great  Zim- 
bal)wye.  This  Bantu  word  is  said  to  denote  a  stone  build- 
ing, but  has  often  l)een  used  to  describe  the  residence  of  a 
great  chief,  whatever  the  nuiterials  of  which  it  is  con- 
structed. It  is  a  common  noun,  and  not  the  name  of  one 
particular  place.  Euroix'ans,  however,  confine  it  to  this 
one  ruin,  or  rather  to  two  ruined  buildings  ni'ar  each 
other.  One  of  these  is  on  th-^  top  of  a  rocky  and  in  parts 
jirecii)itous  liill,  the  other  in  a  valley  half  a  mile  from  the 
foot  of  the  hill. 

The  first,  which  we  may  call  the  fort,  consists  of  a  line 
of  wall,  in  parts  double,  defending  the  more  accessible 
parts  of  the  eastern  and  southeastern  end  of  the  hill  or 
kopje,  which  is  about  500  feet  high,  and  breaks  down  on 
its  southern  side  in  a  nearly  vertical  sheet  of  granite.  The 
walls,  which  in  some  pUices  are  thirty  feet  high,  are  all  built 
of  snuill  trimmed  blocks  of  granite  such  as  I  have  already 
described,  without  mortar,  but  neatly  fitted  together.  They 
are  in  excellent  preservation,  and  are  skilfully  constructed, 
in  a  sort  of  labyrinth,  so  as  to  cover  all  the  places  where  an 
enemy  might  approach.  From  the  openings  in  the  wall, 
where  doors  were  proba)>ly  placed,  passages  are  carried  in- 
ward, very  narrow  and  winding,  so  that  only  one  pers(m  at  a 
time  can  pass,  and  completely  commanded  by  the  high  wall 

as  well  built  as  those  at  the  Great  ZimLahwye.  To  me  it  seemed 
not  so  good,  and  a  little  rougher  even  than  the  work  at  Dhlodldo. 
Hard  by  is  a  modern  Kafir  fort,  Chitikete,  witli  a  i)lastered  and  loop- 
holed  rough  stone  wall,  qxiite  unlike  this  wall  at  Chipadzi's  grave. 


'ii 


OUT   OF   THE   DAHK.NESS-ZLMBABVrVE 


lO 


i/n  eitlior  side.  Everytliin*?  speaks  of  defense,  niul  every- 
thing' is  very  well  uchipted,  eonsiderini;  the  rutlcness  of  the 
materials,  for  effieient  defense.  There  is  no  sort  of  orna- 
ment in  the  walls,  exeept  that  here  and  there  at  the  en- 
trances some  stones  are  laid  transverselv  to  the  others,  nnd 
that  certain  lon*^-,  thin  pieces  of  a  slaty  stone,  ronnded  so 
that  one  miji'ht  call  them  stone  poles,— they  are  abont  live 
to  seven  feet  lonjj:,— i)roject  from  the  top  of  the  widl. 
Neither  is  there  any  trace  of  an  arch  or  vanlted  roof. 
None  of  what  look  like  chambers  have  a  roof.  They  were 
doubtless  covere  ^  with  the  Ijranches  of  trees.  Very  few 
objects  have  been  found  throwiu*;:  any  li*;ht  on  the  obj-ct 
of  the  building  or  its  Iniilders,  and  these  have  been  now 
removed,  except  some  small  pieces  of  sandstone,  a  rock  not 
found  in  the  neighborhood,  which  (it  has  l)een  conjectured) 
may  have  l)een  brought  for  the  puri)oses  of  mining. 

The  other  building  is  much  more  remarkable.  It  stands 
on  a  slight  eminence  in  the  level  ground  l)et\veen  the  hill 
on  which  the  fort  stands  and  another  somewhat  lower 
granite  hill,  and  is  about  a  third  of  a  mile  from  the  fort. 
It  consists  of  a  wall,  rather  ellii)tieal  than  circular  in  form, 
from  thirty  to  forty  feet  high,  fourteen  feet  thick  near  the 
ground,  and  from  six  to  nine  thick  at  the  top,  where  one 
can  walk  along  a  considerable  part  with  little  difficulty. 
This  wall  is  built  of  the  same  small,  well-trimmed  blocks 
of  granite,  nicely  fitted  together,  and  for  more  than  half 
the  circumference  is  in  excellent  preservation,  although 
shrubs  and  climbing  vines  have  here  and  there  rooted 
themselves  in  it.  The  rest  is  broken  in  parts.  There  are 
two  gates  at  the  west  and  the  north.  It  is  quite  plain,  ex- 
cept for  about  one  third  (or  perhaps  a  little  less)  of  the 
outer  face,  where  there  is  such  an  ornament,  as  I  have  al- 
ready deseribed,  of  two  courses  of  stonea  set  slantingly  at 


•''. 


11 


.M 


'•It 


i/ 


-1  I 


I    I' 


( 


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;! 


76 


DIPKESirlONS   OF   HOUTH   AFliICA 


Si  i 


I 


an  acute  twiglc  to  tin*  ordinary  tiat  courses  above  and  below. 
These  two  courses  are  the  lifth  and  seventli  from  the  top. 
lu  the  space  inclosed  by  the  wall,  which  is  about  three 
quarters  of  an  acre,  are  some  small  inclosures  of  trimmed 
stone,  apparently  chambers.  There  is  also  a  singular  wall 
running  jtarallel  to  the  great  inclosing  wall  for  some  twenty 
yards,  leaving  between  it  and  the  i'»*ide  face  of  that  great 
wall  a  very  narrow  passage,  which  at  one  point  must  have 
been  closed  by  a  door  (probably  of  stone),  for  at  that  point 
stei)s  lead  up  on  either  side,  and  liollow  spaces  fit  for 
receiving  a  door  ren)ain.  At  one  end  this  passage  opens 
into  a  space,  where  the  most  curious  of  all  the  erections 
are  to  be  found,  namely,  two  solid  towers  of  trimmed  stones. 
One  of  these  is  quite  low,  rising  only  some  Ave  feet  from 
the  ground.  The  other  is  more  than  forty  feet  high,  over- 
toi)ping  the  great  inclosing  wall  (from  which  it  is  eight 
feet  distant)  bv  about  live  feet,  and  has  a  bluntlv  conical 
toj).  It  reminds  one  a  little  of  an  Irish  nmnd  tower, 
though  not  so  high,  save  that  the  Trisli  towers  are  hollow 
and  this  solid,  or  of  a  Buddhist  tope,  save  that  the  topes, 
which  are  solid,  are  very  much  thicker.  There  is  nothing 
whatever  to  indicate  the  purpose  of  this  tower,  but  the 
fact  that  the  space  in  which  it  and  the  smaller  tower 
stand  is  cut  olT  from  the  rest  of  the  iuclosed  area  bv  a 
pretty  high  wall  seems  to  show  that  it  was  meant  to  be 
specially  protected  or  was  deemed  to  be  specially  sacred. 

Outside  the  main  inclosing  wall  are  several  small  in- 
closures of  irregular  shape,  surrounded  by  similar  walls 
of  trimmed  stones,  but  all  low  and  broken  and  with  noth- 
iiig  inside.  One  of  these  joins  on  to  the  main  wall  of  the 
great  inclosure. 

This  is  all  that  there  is  to  see  at  Zimbabwye.  What  I 
have  described  seems  little,  and  that  little  is  simple,  even 


OUT   OF   THE   DAKKNESS-ZIMBAUWYE 


7  7 


rude.     The  interest  lies  in  guessing  what  the  walls  WL-re 
built  for,  and  by  wiioni.     I'oinparatively  little  has  been 


id  bv  (li 


X( 


ipt! 


,'hate 


liseoverea  ov  {lij'j'nn'.  :so  msei 
been  found.  Some  figures  of  birds  rudely  earved  in  a 
sort  of  soapstone  were  lixed  along  the  to})  of  the  walls 
of  the  fort,  and  have  been  removed  to  the  ('ai)e  Town 
museum.  It  is  thought  that  they  represent  vultures, 
and  the  vulture  was  a  bird  of  religious  signilieance 
among  some  of  the  Semitic  nations.  Fragments  of  soap- 
stone  bowls  were  discovered,  some  with  figures  of  animals 
earved  on  them,  some  with  geometrical  patterns,  while  on  oiu' 
were  marks  which  might  possil)ly  belong  to  some  primitive 
alphabet.  There  were  also  whorls  somewhat  resembling 
those  which  occur  so  profusely  in  the  ruins  of  Troy,  and 
stone  objects  which  may  be  phalli,  though  some  at  least  of 
them  are  deenu'd  In'the  authorities  of  the  l^ritish  ^luscum 
(to  whom  I  have  shown  them)  to  be  probably  pieces  used 
for  playing  a  game  like  that  of  fox  and  geese.  The  iron 
and  bronze  weapons  which  were  found  may  have  been 
comparatively  modern,  l)ut  the  small  crucibles  for  snu'lt- 
ing  gold,  with  tools  and  a  curious  ingot-mold,  were  ap- 
parently ancient. 

What  purpose  were  these  buildings  meant  to  serve? 
That  on  the  hill  was  evidently  a  stronghold,  and  a  strong- 
hold of  a  somewhat  elaborate  kind,  erected  against  an 
enemy  deemed  formidable.  The  large  building  below  can 
hardly  have  been  a  place  of  defense,  ])ecause  it  stands  on 
level  ground  with,  a  high,  rocky  hill  just  above  it,  which 
w^ould  have  afforded  a  much  stronger  situation.  Neither 
was  it  a  mining  station,  for  the  nearest  place  where  there 
is  any  trace  of  ancient  gold-workings  is  seven  miles  away, 
and  in  a  mining  station,  even  if  meant  to  hold  slave  workers, 
there  would  have  been  no  use  for  a  wall  so  lofty  as  this.   Two 


/,; 


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IMl'KlvSSlUNS  OF   SOUTH   AFKICA 


Li^fw' 


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h 


liyi)(>thosos  remain  :  tliut  this  was  the  resideiioe  of  a  cliief, 
or  that  it  was  erected  for  tlie  juirposes  of  reliuious  wor- 
ship. It  may  liave  been  both  — a  pahiee,  so  to  s]»'ak.  witli 
{'.  tem]>h'  attaclied.  Tlie  presence  of  tiie  inner  inchtsure, 
pumU'd  l>y  its  separate  wall,  and  with  its  curious  t(»wcr, 
is  most  i)lausil»Iy  explained  by  supposinuf  a  rdiurious  \mv- 
pose,  for  as  religion  is  the  strangest  of  all  human  thini;s, 
and  that  in  which  nu'u  most  vary,  so  it  is  naturally  called 
in  to  explain  what  is  otherwise  inexplicable. 

What,  then,  was  the  relijiion  of  those  who  Iniilt  this 
shrine,  if  shrine  it  was  ?  The  ornamentation  of  that  part 
of  the  outer  wall  which  faces  the  risinur  sun  su<iiiests  sun- 


M\).     The  i)halli  (if  th 


)halli) 


itt( 


of  th 


ponii 
Oriental  forms  of  the  worshij)  of  the  forces  of  nature.  The 
birds'  heads  nniy  have  a  reli|j:i(ms  sij;nificanee.  and  possibly 
the  significance  which  it?  is  said  that  vultures  had  in  the 
Syrian  natnre-worship.  These  data  give  some  slight  pre- 
sum})ti()ns,  yet  the  lield  for  conjecture  remains  a  very  wide 
one,  and  there  is  nothing  in  the  buildings  to  indicate  the 
particular  race  who  erected  the  fort  and  the  temple  (if  it 
was  a  temple).  However,  the  tower  bears  some  resem- 
blance to  a  tower  which  appears  within  a  town  wall  on  an 
ancient  coin  of  the  Pha'nician  citv  of  Bvblus,  and  this  co- 
incidence,  slight  enough,  has,  in  the  dearth  of  other  light, 
been  used  to  support  the  view  that  the  builders  belonged 
to  some  Semitic  race. 

Had  we  nothing  but  the  ruined  walls  of  Zimbabwye, 
Dhlodhlo,  and  the  other  spots  where  similar  ruins  have 
been  observed,  the  problem  would  be  insoluble.  We  could 
only  say  that  t^  e  existing  native  races  had  at  some  ap- 
parently distant  time  been  more  civdized  than  tliey  are 
now  and  capable  of  building  walls  they  do  not  now  build, 
or  else  we  should  suppose  that  some  now  extinct  race  had 


i 


i' 


n 


11 N" 


OUT   UF   TilE   DAliKNESS-ZIMHAinVVE  7'J 

huilt  these.  But  tliere  are  other  t'uets  known  to  us  whieli 
suj.Tji'est,  lliouirh  they  do  not  estiihlisli,  an  hyputliesis  re- 
pinlinj^^  llie  early  liistory  of  tlie  e(>untry. 

In  very  renjote  times  there  existed,  as  is  known  from  tlie 
Eiryptian  monuments,  a  trade  from  Southeast  Africa  into 
the  Ked  Sea.  Tin'  renuirkabh'  .sculptures  at  Deii"  el  liahari, 
lU'ar  Luxor,  datinj;  from  the  time  of  Queen  llatasu,  sister 
of  the  trreat  eoucpieror  Thothmes  111  (n.  c.  KiOd  .').  repi-escnt 
tlie  return  of  an  exi)edition  from  n  country  <'alle(l  !*unt, 
^vlliell  woukl  ai)pear,  from  tlie  objects  brouu'ht  back,  to 
have  been  .somewhere  (m  the  East  African  coast.'  3iucli 
later  the  Book  of  Kiii«rs  (1  Kino-s  ix.  2()-2S  ;  x.  11,  1.'),  22) 
tells  us  that  Solomon  and  Hiram  of  Tvre  entered  into  a, 
sort  of  joint  adventure  trade  from  the  Bed  Sea  port  of 
Ezi(m-geber  to  a  country  n;imed  Ophir,  which  jn'oduced 
^old.  There  are  other  indications  that  ^old  u.sed  to  come 
from  East  Africa,  but  so  far  as  we  know  it  has  never  been 
obtained  in  quantity  from  any  jiart  of  the  coast  betweer 
Mozambique  and  Cajie  Guardafui.  Thus  there  are 
grounds  for  believinji^  that  a  tratlic  between  the  Bed  K  -a 
and  the  coast  south  of  the  Zambesi  mav  have  existed  fi  om 
verv  remote  times.     Of  its  later  existence  there  is  of 

ft 

course  no  doubt.  We  know  from  Arabian  sources  that  in 
the  eighth  century  an  Arab  tribe  defeated  in  war  estab- 
lished itself  on  the  African  coast  south  of  Cape  Guardafui, 
and  that  from  the  ninth  centurv  onward  tli^re  was  a  con- 
siderable  trade  between  Southeast  Africa  and  the  Bed  Sea 
ports— a  trade  which  may  well  liave  existed  long  before. 
And  when  the  Portuguese  began  to  explore  the  coast  in 
1497  they  found  Arab  chieftains  estal)lished  at  various 
points  along  it  as  far  south  as  Sofala,  and  found  them  get- 

1  Maspero  ("Histoire  ancienne  des  peuples  d'Ovient,"  p.  1G9)  con- 
jectures Somalilaud. 


im 


1 


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I 


n'i 


•0 


IMl'KESSIONS  OF   SOUTH    AFHICA 


tiii^'  fjfold  from  tlu'  iutt'rior.  Three  tliiii«;s,  tlien»fore,  nro 
certain  — a  trade  })etweeii  Southeast  At'ri<'a  ami  tlie  Red 
Sea,  a  certain  number  of  Arabs  settled  alonjr  the  ed<re  of  tlie 
ocean,  and  an  export  of  j;old.  Now  all  over  Mashonahmd 
and  Matahilihind  ancient  j^old-workinfjjs  have  been  ob- 
served.  Some  are  (luite  modern,— one  can  see  the  wooden 
supp(>rts  and  tlie  iron  tools  not  yet  destroyed  by  rust,— and 
it  would  seem  from  the  accounts  of  the  natives  that  the  min- 
ing went  on  to  some  snuiU  extent  down  to  sixty  years  ii^o, 
when  the  Matabili  concjuered  the  (!ountry.  Others,  how- 
ever, are,  from  the  appearance  of  the  {ground,  obviously 
nuK'h  more  aticient.  I  have  seen  some  that  must  have 
been  centuries  old,  and  have  been  told  of  others  appa- 
rently far  older,  possibly  as  old  as  the  buildin«;s  at  Zim- 
babvvye.  I  have,  moreover,  been  informed  by  Mr.  Cecil 
Rhodes  (wl  o  takes  a  keen  interest  in  African  archtvology) 
that  lie  has  seen  on  the  hi^h  plateau  of  Inyanjja,  in  east- 
ern Mashonaland,  some  rennu'kable  circular  pits  lined  with 
stone,  and  approa(died  in  each  case  by  a  narrow  subter- 
ranean passage,  which  can  best  be  explained  by  supposing 
them  to  have  been  reeepta(4es  for  the  confinement  of  slaves 
0(;(;upied  in  tilling  the  soil,  as  the  surrounding  country 
bears  marks,  in  the  renuiins  of  ancient  irrigation  channels, 
of  an  extensive  system  of  tillage  where  none  now  exists. 
The  way  in  which  the  stones  are  laid  in  these  pit-walls 
is  quite  unlike  any  modern  Kafir  work,  and  points  to  the 
presence  of  a  more  advanced  ra(;e.  Putting  all  these  facts 
together,  it  has  been  plausibly  argued  that  at  some  very 
distant  period  men  more  civilized  than  the  Kafirs  came  in 
search  of  gold  into  Mashonaland,  opened  these  mines,  and 
obtained  from  them  the  gold  which  found  its  way  to  the 
Red  Sea  ports,  and  that  the  buildings  whose  ruins  we  see 
were  their  work.   How  long  ago  this  happened  we  cannot 


K< 


I  1' 


r  i 


i'^ 


OUT  OF  THE  r/AUKNESS-ZIMIiAHWYK 


01 


tell.lmt  if  flu*  strangers  came  from  Araltia  tlu-v  must  have 
(lour  so  earlier  tlian  the  time  of  M(>hamiiie(i,  for  there  is 
notliiiifr  <)f  an  Ishimic  character  about  tiie  ruins  or  the 
remains  found,  .md  it  is  just  as  easy  to  s»ip))ose  tliat  tliey 
came  in  the  (hiys  of  Solomon,  fifteen  eentiiries  Ix'fore 
Mohammed.  Xor  can  we  jjuess  how  they  disappeared: 
whether  they  were  overpowered  and  exterminated  ))y 
the  Katirs,  <)r  whetlier,  as  Mr.  Sehtus  conjectures,  tliey 
were  gradually  absorbed  ])y  the  latter,  their  civilization 
and  religion  perishing,  although  the  practice  of  mining 
^ur  gold  remained.  The  occasional  occurrence  among 
the  Kafirs  of  faces  with  a  cast  of  features  approaching  the 
Semitic  has  been  thought  to  confirm  this  notion,  though 
nobody  has  as  yet  suggested  that  we  are  to  look  liere  for 
tlie  lost  Tt?»  Tribes.  Whoever  these  i)eoj)le  were,  they 
have  long  since  vanished.  The  natives  seem  to  have  no 
traditions  alxnit  the  builders  of  Zimbabwye  and  the  other 
ancient  walls,  though  they  regard  the  ruins  with  a  certain 
awe,  and  fear  to  apjn'oach  them  at  twilight. 

It  is  this  mystery  whi(  h  nuikes  these  buildings,  tlie  soli- 
tary archaM)logical  curiosities  of  South  Africa,  so  impres- 
sive. The  ruins  are  not  grand,  nor  are  they  beautiful ;  they 
are  simple  even  to  rudeness.  It  is  the  loneliness  of  the 
landscape  in  which  they  stand,  and  still  more  th<'  complete 
darkness  which  surrounds  their  origin,  ^heir  object,  and 
their  history,  that  gives  to  them  their  .  uique  interest. 
Whence  came  the  builders  ?  What  tongue  did  they  speak  ? 
What  religion  did  they  jn-aetise  ?  Did  they  vanish  imper- 
ceptibly away,  or  did  they  fly  to  the  coast,  or  were  they 
massacred  in  a  rising  of  tlieir  slaves  ?  We  do  not  know ; 
probably  we  shall  never  know'.  We  can  only  say,  in  the 
words  of  the  Eastern  poet : 

They  come  like  water,  and  like  wind  they  go. 
ft 


,  ,,. 


,1 


!    ! 


^1 


H 


CHAPTER  X 


THE  KAFIRS:    TIIEIK   IIISTUKY   AND  INSTITUTIONS 


THE  curtain  rises  upon  tlie  Kafir  i)ooi)l('s  when  tlie 
Portujfuese  landed  on  tlie  ejist  coast  of  Africa  in  the 
Iteginninjjf  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Arab  sheiks  then 
held  a  few  of  the  coast  villages,  ruling  over  a  mixed  race, 
nominally  Mohammedan,  and  trading  with  the  Bantu 
tribes  of  the  interior.  The  vessels  of  these  Arabs  crossed 
the  Indian  Ocean  with  the  monsoon  to  Calicut  and  the 
jNlalabar  coast,  and  the  Indian  goods  thvy  brought  were 
exchanged  for  the  gold  and  ivory  which  the  natives 
brought  down.  The  principal  race  that  held  the  country 
between  the  Limpopo  and  the  Zambesi  was  that  which  the 
Portuguese  called  Makalanga  or  Makaranga,  and  which 
we  now  call  Makalaka.  They  are  the  progenitors  of  the 
tribes  who,  now  greatly  reduced  in  numbers  and  divided 
into  small  villages  and  clans,  occupy  Mashonaland.  Their 
head  chief  was  called  the  Monomotapa,  a  name  interpreted 
to  mean  "  Lord  of  the  Mountain  "  or  "  Lord  of  the  Mines." 
This  personage  was  turned  bj'^  Portuguese  grandilo(|uenc(^ 
into  an  emperor,  and  by  some  European  geographers  into 
the  name  of  an  empire ;  so  Monomotapa  came  to  figure  on 
old  maps  as  the  designation  of  a  vast  territory. 

When,  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  the 

82 


THK  KAFIKS 


ba 


Dutch  licjran  t(>  learn  sonictliiii^'  of  the  Kafirs  \vln»  tlwclt 
lartlirr  to  tlio  south,  Iht-y  t'(»untl  tluit  tluTo  was  uo  lar^'c  (h)- 
iiiiiiiou,  hut  a  };rt'at  iiuiuhcr  of  petty  trihes,  nioslly  eu^'ap'd 
in  war  with  one  anotlier.  Some  w<'re  lialf  nomad,  none 
was  firmly  rooted  in  the  soil;  and  the  I'aet  that  trilx's 
who  sj)oke  similar  dialects  were  often  far  away  from  om; 
another,  with  a  tribe  of  a  diift  rent  dialect  living'  between, 
indicated  that  there  had  been  many  disj)lacements  of 
population  of  which  no  historical  record  existed.  Karly 
in  the  present  century  events  occurred  which  showed  how 
such  displacements  mi^ht  have  ])een  bron^'ht  about.  In 
the  last  years  of  the  eifjhteenth  century  Din^riswayo,  the 
exiled  son  of  the  chief  of  the  Abatetwa  tribe,  which  lived 
in  what  is  now  Zululand,  fonnd  his  way  to  the  C'ai)e, 
and  learned  to  admire  the  niilitary  organization  of  the 
British  troops  who  were  then  holding?  the  Colony.  He- 
turning  home  and  regaining  Ins  throne,  lie  began  to 
organize  and  drill  Lis  warriors,  who  before  that  time  had 
fought  without  order  or  discipline,  like  other  savages.  II is 
favorite  oflicer  was  Tshaka,  a  young  chief,  also  exiled,  who 
belonged  to  the  then  small  tribe  of  Zulus.  On  the  death 
of  Dingiswayo,  Tshaka  was  chosen  its  chief  by  the  army, 
and  the  tribes  that  had  obeyed  Dingiswayo  were  thence- 
forward known  under  the  name  of  Zulus.  Tshaka,  who 
united  to  his  intellectual  gifts  a  boundless  ambition  and  a 
ruthless  will,  perfected  the  military  system  of  his  master, 
and  armed  his  soldiers  with  a  new  weapon,  a  short,  broad- 
)>laded  spear,  fit  for  stabbing  at  close  (quarters,  instead  of 
the  old  light  javelin  which  had  been  theretofore  used.  He 
formed  them  into  regiments,  and  drilled  them  to  such  a 
perfection  of  courage  that  no  enemy  could  withstand  their 
rush,  and  the  defeated  force,  exce])t  such  as  could  escape 
by  fleetness  of  foot,  was  slaughtered  on  the  spot.     Quarter 


(4, 


; 


n 


)! 


rl 


J  'I 


84 


IMPKES8I0NS   OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


,1' 


i  1 
i 

in' 


i 


? 


had  never  }>eeii  given  in  native  wars,  but  the  trained  valor 
of  the  Zuhis,  and  tlieir  habit  of  immediately  engaging  the 
enemy  hand  to  hand,  not  only  gave  them  an  advantage  like 
that  which  suddenly  made  the  Spartan  infantry  superior  to 
all  their  neighbors,  but  rendered  their  victories  far  more 
sanguinary  than  native  battles  had  previously  been. 
Tshaka  rapidlv  oubjected  or  blotted  out  all  the  elans  that 
lived  round,  except  the  Swazis,  a  kindred  tribe  whose  diffi- 
cult country  gave  them  some  protection.  He  devastated  all 
the  region  round  that  of  his  own  subjects,  while  the  flight 
before  his  warriors  of  the  weaker  tribes,  each  of  which 
fell  upon  its  neighbors  with  the  assagai,  caused  wide-spread 
slaughter  and  ruin  all  over  Southeast  Africa.  Natal  be- 
came almost  ii  desert,  and  of  the  survivors  who  escaped 
into  the  mountains,  many  took  to  cannibalism  for  want  of 
other  food.  To  the  north  of  the  Vaal  River  a  section  of 
the  Zulu  army,  which  had  revolted  under  its  general, 
Mosilikatze,  carried  slaughter  and  destruction  through 
the  surrounding  country  for  hundreds  of  miles,  till  it  was 
itself  chased  away  beyond  the  Ijimpopo  by  the  emigrant 
Boers,  as  will  be  related  in  the  following  chapter. 

To  trace  the  history  of  these  various  native  wars  would 
occupy  far  more  space  than  I  can  spare.  I  will  sum  up 
their  general  results. 

A  new  and  powerful  kingdom,  far  stronger  than  any 
other  native  nionarchv  we  know  to  have  existed  before  or 
since,  was  formed  by  the  Zulus.  It  remained  powerful 
under  Dingaan  (who  murdered  his  brother  Tshaka  in 
1828),  Panda  ())rother  of  Tshaka  and  Dingaan),  and  Cete- 
wayo  (son  of  Panda),  till  1879,  when  it  was  overthrown  by 
the  British. 

Various  offshoots  from  the  Zulu  nation  were  scattered 
out  in  different  directions.     The  Matabili  occupied  Mata- 


(  i 


THE   KAFIKS 


So 


bililand  in  1838.  The  Augoni  had  still  earlier  crossed  the 
Zambesi  and  settled  in  Nvassaland,  where  thev  are  still 
l«.)rn  lid  able  to  their  native  neighbors  and  troublesome  to 
the  whites. 

Kafir  tribes  from  the  northeast  were  driven  southward 
into  the  mountain  country  now  called  Basutoland,  most 
of  which  had  been  previously  inhabited  only  by  Bushmen, 
and  here  the  Basuto  kingdom  was  built  up  out  of  fugitive 
clans,  by  the  famous  chief  Moshesh,  between  1820  and 
1840. 

Some  of  the  Bechuana  tribes  were  driven  from  the  east 
into  their  present  seats  in  Bechuanaland,  some  few  far 
northwest  to  the  banks  of  the  Zambesi,  where  Livingstone 
found  them. 

Not  only  what  is  now  Natal,  but  most  of  what  is  now 
the  Orange  Free  State,  with  a  part  of  the  Transvaal,  was 
almost  denuded  of  inhabitants.  This  had  the  imijortant 
consequence  of  inducing  the  emigrants  from  Cape  Colony^ 
whose  fortunes  I  shall  trace  in  the  following  chapter,  to 
move  toward  these  regions  and  establish  themselves  there. 

The  Gaza  tribe,  of  Zulu  race,  but  revolters  from  Tshaka, 
broke  away  from  that  tyrant,  and  carried  fire  and  sword 
among  the  Tongas  and  other  tribes  living  to  the  west  and 
northwest  of  Delagoa  Bay.  In  1833  they  destroyed  the 
Portuguese  garrison  there.  In  18G2  a  chief  called  Mzila 
became  their  king,  and  established  his  dominion  over  all 
the  tribes  that  dwell  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Quath- 
lamba  Mountains,  between  the  Limpopo  and  the  Zaml)esi. 
He  and  his  son  Gungunhana,  who  in  1896  was  seized  and 
carried  off  by  the  Portuguese,  were  for  a  time  at  the  hesid 
of  the  third  great  native  power  in  South  Africa,  tiie  other 
two  being  that  of  Cetewayo,  which  perished  in  1879,  and 
that  of  Lo  Bengula,  overthrown  in  1893.     All  three  were 


(I 


i  a<  \ 


i 


t< ' 


■'I 


'il'? 


i' 


I 


86 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


Zulus  in  blood.  Originally  small  in  number,  this  race  has 
played  by  far  the  greatest  part  in  the  annals  of  the  native 
peoples. 

The  career  of  Tshaka  has  deserved  some  description, 
because  it  changed  the  face  of  South  Africa  in  a  somewhat 
similar  way,  allowing  for  the  difference  of  scale,  to  that 
in  which  the  career  of  Tshaka's  contemporary,  Napoleon 
Bonaparte,  changed  the  face  of  Europe.  But  in  183G,  eight 
years  after  Tshaka's  death,  the  white  man,  who  had  hith- 
erto come  in  contact  with  the  Kafirs  only  on  tlic  Zambesi 
and  at  a  few  points  on  the  southeastern  and  southern 
coast,  began  that  march  into  the  interior  which  has  now 
brought  him  to  the  shores  of  Lake  Tanganyika.  Thence- 
forward the  wars  of  the  natives  among  themselves  cease 
to  be  important.  It  is  their  strife  with  the  European 
conqueror  that  is  of  consequence,  and  the  narrative  of 
that  strife  belongs  to  the  history  of  the  European  col- 
onies aiid  rei)ublics,  which  will  be  given  in  the  two  suc- 
ceeding chapters  This,  however,  seems  the  right  place 
for  some  remarks  on  the  government  and  customs  of  the 
Kafir  tribes,  intended  to  explain  the  conditions  under 
which  these  tribes  have  met  and  attempted  to  resist  the 
white  strangers  who  have  now  become  their  rulers. 

The  Kafirs  were  savages,  yet  not  of  a  low  type,  for  they 
tilled  the  soil,  could  work  in  metals,  spoke  a  highly  de- 
veloped language,  and  had  a  sort  of  customary  law.  The 
southeast  coast  tribes,  Zidus,  Pondos,  Tembus,  Kosas,  in- 
habiting a  fairly  well  watered  and  fertile  country,  were,  as 
a  rule,  the  strongest  men  and  the  fiercest  fighters ;  but 
the  tribes  of  the  interior  were  not  inferior  in  intellect, 
and  sometimes  superior  in  the  arts.  Lower  in  every  re- 
spect were  the  west  coast  tribes.  Thej^  dwelt  in  a  poor 
and  almost  waterless  land,  and  theii*  blood  was  mixed 


THE   KAFIRS 


87 


with  that  of  Hottentots  and  Bushmen.  In  every  raee 
the  organization  was  by  families,  elans,  and  tribes,  the  tribe 
consisting  of  a  number  of  elans  or  smaller  groups,  having 
at  its  head  one  supreme  chief,  belonging  to  a  family  whose 
genealogy  was  <'arefully  preserved.  The  power  of  the 
chief  was,  however,  not  everywhere  the  same.  Among  the 
Zulus,  whose  organization  was  entirely  military,  he  was  a 
despot  whose  word  was  law.  Anu)ng  the  Bechuana  tribes, 
and  their  kinsfolk  the  Basutos,  he  was  obliged  to  defer  to 
the  sentiment  of  the  people,  which  (in  S(mie  tribes)  found 
expression  in  a  public  meeting  where  every  freeman  had 
a  right  to  speak  and  might  dilfer  from  the  chief. ^  Even 
such  able  men  as  the  Basuto  Moshesh  and  the  Bechuana 
Kliama  had  often  to  bend  to  the  wish  of  their  subjects,  and 
a  further  check  existed  in  the  tendency  to  move  away  from 
a  harsh  and  unpopular  chief  and  place  one's  self  under 
the  protection  of  some  more  tactful  ruler.  Everywhere, 
of  course,  the  old  customs  had  great  power,  and  the  influ- 
ence of  the  old  nu'U  who  were  most  conversant  with  them 
was  considerable.  The  chief  of  the  whole  tribe  did  not 
interfere  nnicli  with  affairs  outside  his  own  particulai*  clan, 
[ind  was  a  more  important  figure  in  war-time  than  during 
peace.  Aided  by  a  council  of  his  leading  men,  each  chief 
administered  justice  and  settled  disputes ;  and  it  was  his 
function  to  allot  land  to  those  who  asked  for  a  field  to  till, 
the  land  itself  belonging  to  the  tribe  as  a  whole.  The  chief's 
act  gave  a  title  to  the  piece  allotted  so  long  as  it  was  culti- 
vated, for  public;  opinion  resented  any  arbitrary  eviction ; 
but  pasture-land  was  open  to  all  the  cattle  of  the  clansmen. 
It  was  in  cattle  that  the  wealth  of  a  chief  or  a  rich  man 
lay,  and  cattle,  being  the  common  measure  of  value,  served 

1  See  further  as  to  this  public  meeting  the  remarks  on  the  Basuto 
ntso  in  the  chapter  on  Basutoland. 


1 


I,  ,•• 


(II 


n 


■  1 1 

r    i 


,>' 


f 


88 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


as  currency,  as  they  serve  still  among  the  more  remote 
tribes  which  have  not  learned  to  use  British  coin.  Poly- 
gamy was  practised  by  all  who  could  afford  it,  the  wife 
being  purchased  from  her  father  with  cattle,  more  or 
fewer  according  to  her  rank.  This  practice,  called  loholoy 
still  prevails  universally,  and  has  caused  much  perplexity 
to  the  missionaries.  The  objections  to  it  are  obvious,  but 
it  is  closely  intertwined  with  the  whole  system  of  native 
society.  A  chief  had  usually  a  head  wife,  belonging  to 
some  important  house,  and  her  sons  were  preferred  in  suc- 
cession to  those  of  the  inferior  wives.  In  some  tribes  the 
chief,  like  a  Turkish  sultan,  had  no  regular  wife,  but  only 
concubines.  Among  the  coast  tribes  no  one,  except  a 
chief,  was  suffered  to  marry  any  one  of  kin  to  him.  There 
was  great  pride  of  birth  among  the  head  chiefs,  and  their 
gpueuiogies  have  in  not  a  few  cases  been  carefully  kept  for 
seven  or  eight  generations. 

Slavery  existed  among  some  of  the  tribes  of  the  interior, 
and  the  ordinary  wife  was  everywhere  little  better  than  a 
slave,  being  required  to  do  nearly  all  the  tillage  and  most 
of  the  other  work,  except  that  about  the  cattle,  which, 
being  more  honorable,  was  performed  by  men.  Tlie  male 
Kafir  is  a  laz}'^  fellow  who  likes  talking  and  sleeping  bet- 
ter than  continuous  physical  exertion,  and  the  difficulty 
of  inducing  him  to  work  is  the  chief  difficulty  which  Eu- 
ropean mine-owners  in  South  Africa  complain  of.  Like 
most  men  in  his  state  of  civilization,  he  is  fond  of  hunting, 
even  in  its  lowest  forms,  and  of  fighting.  Both  of  these 
pleasures  are  being  withdrawn  from  him,  the  former  by 
the  extinction  of  the  game,  the  latter  by  the  British  gov- 
ernment ;  but  it  will  be  long  before  he  acquires  the  habits 
of  steady  and  patient  industry  which  have  become  part  of 
the  character  of  the  inhabitants  of  India. 


\^\m 


V 


';» 


l^-^ 


"I 


THE   KAFIRS 


89 


War  was  the  natural  state  of  tlie  tribes  toward  one  an- 
other, just  as  it  was  among  the  Red  Indians  and  the  primi- 
tive Celts,  and  indeed  generally  everywhere  in  the  early 
days  of  Europe.  Their  weapons  were  the  spear  or  assagai, 
and  a  sort  of  wooden  club,  occasionally  a  crescent-shaped 
battle-ax,  and  still  less  fretiuenvly  the  bow.  Horses  were 
unknown,  for  the  ox,  sheep,  and  dog  were  over  all  South 
Africa  the  only  domesticated  quadrupeds.  Ohf  tribe, 
however,  the  Basutos,  now  breeds  horses  extensively,  and 
lias  turned  them  to  account  in  fighting.  The  rapid  move- 
ment of  their  mounted  warriors  was  one  of  the  chief 
difficulties  the  colonial  forces  had  to  deal  with  in  the  last 
Basuto  war.  The  courage  in  war  which  distinguished  the 
tribes  of  Zulu  and  Kosa  race  was  all  the  more  creditable 
because  it  had  not,  like  that  of  the  Mohammedan  dervishes 
of  the  Sudan,  or  of  Mohammedans  anywhere  engaged  in 
n Jehad,  a  religious  motive  and  tho  promise  of  future  bliss 
behind  it.  The  British  army  has  encountered  no  more 
daring  or  formidable  enemies.  Nine  wars  were  needed  to 
subjugate  the  Kafirs  of  the  southern  coast,  although  till 
recently  they  did  not  possess  firearms.  But  the  Zulus 
had  no  idea  of  the  tactics  needed  in  facing  a  civilized  foe. 
As  in  their  battles  with  the  Boers  thev  were  destroved 
by  the  fire  of  horsemen  riding  up,  delivering  a  volley, 
and  riding  off  before  an  assagai  coidd  reach  them,  so  in 
the  great  war  with  Cetewayo  in  1879  they  fought  in  the 
open  and  were  mowed  down  by  British  volleys;  and  in 
1893  the  Matabili  perished  in  the  same  way  under  the  fire 
of  riflemen  and  Maxim  guns  sheltered  behind  a  laa:rer  of 
wagons. 

Religion  was  a  powerful  factor  in  Kafir  life  ;  but  religion 
did  not  mean  the  worship  of  any  deity,  for  there  was  no 
deity.     Still  less  had  it  any  moral  significance.     To  the 


I 


r^ 


IV 

i 

i 


r  (  ' 

i 

II 1  ■ 

1 

J, 

I 

4^ 

h  ] 

i 

I'll 


m 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


IV-     I 


\i 


Kafirs,  as  to  most  savage  races,  the  vorld  was  full  of 
spirits— spirits  of  the  rivers,  the  mountains,  and  the 
woods.  Most  important  were  the  ghosts  of  the  dead, 
who  had  power  to  injure  or  to  help  the  living,  and  vv'ho 
were  therefore  propitiated  by  offerings  at  stated  p(;riods, 
as  well  as  on  occasions  when  their  aid  was  specially  desired. 
This  kind  of  worship,  the  worship  once  most  generallv 
diffused  thnmghont  the  world,  and  which  held  its  ground 
amouir  tlie  Greeks  and  Italians  in  the  most  flourishing 
period  of  an(!ient  civilization,  as  it  does  in  China  and 
Japan  to-day,  was  and  is  virtually  the  religion  of  the 
Kafirs.  It  was  chiefly  rendered  to  the  ghosts  of  the  chiefs, 
who  retained  in  the  spirit  world  the  exceptional  importance 
they  had  held  among  the  living ;  and  it  had  much  weight 
in  maintaining  loyalty  to  a  chief,  because  revolt  against 
him  was  an  insult  to  a  powerful  set  of  ghosts.  The  ghost 
dwelt  at  the  spot  where  the  body  was  buried,  and  it  was 
therefore  at  the  grave  that  the  offerings,  mostly  of  cakes 
and  Kafir  beer,  were  made.  Occasionailv  animals  were 
killed,  not  so  much  by  way  of  sacrifice  as  for  the  sake  of 
providing  the  ghost  Vvith  a  specially  precious  kind  of  food, 
tliough  the  two  ideas  ran  close  together  in  most  ])riniitive 
worships.  1  Among  the  Matabili,  for  instance,  there  was 
once  a  year  a  great  feast  in  honor  of  the  king's  ancestors, 
who  were  supposed  to  come  and  join  in  the  mirth.  It  was 
also  to  the  grave  that  those  who  wished  to  call  up  the 
ghost  by  spells  went  to  effect  their  nefarious  purpose,  and 
the  real  place  of  interment  of  a  great  chief  was  for  this 
reason  sometimes  concealed.    I  found  at  Thaba  Bosiyo,  the 

^  Those  who  are  curious  oti  this  subject  may  consult  Mr.  Frazer's 
"Golden  Bough,"  and  the  late  Mr.  Robertson  Smith's  "Religion  of 
the  Semites,"  where  many  interesting  and  profoundly  suggestive 
facts  regarding  it  are  collected. 


ii    I 


THE  KAFIliS 


1>1 


famous  stronj;liol(l  of  the  Bas"to  Moshesh,  that  the  l)0(ly 
of  that  chief  had  been  F"eretly  removed  from  the  phiee 
where  lie  was  buried  to  bafiHe  the  wizards,  who  mi<;ht  try  to 
use  his  j^host  ajj^aiust  the  living.  The  jj^liost  is,  of  eourse, 
apt  to  l)e  spiteful,  that  of  an  unele  (I  was  told)  i)arti('ularly 
so;  and  if  he  is  ne«;lected  he  is  extrenu'ly  likely  to  brin^ 
sonu'  evil  (tn  the  fanuly  or  tribe.  Sometimes  the  spirit  of 
5in  an(;estor  i)asses  into  an  aninud,  and  ])v  preference  into 
that  of  a  snake,  not  that  it  lives  in  the  snake,  l)ut  that  it  as- 
sumes this  form  when  it  wishes  to  visit  men.  A  i)articu- 
lar  kind  of  green  snake  is  revered  l)y  the  Matabili  f<)r 
this  reason.  And  most,  if  not  all,  tri])es  had  an  animal 
which  they  deemed  to  be  of  kin  to  them,  and  which  they 
called  their  "  Siboko,"  a  term  apparently  corresponding;  to 
the  totem  of  the  North  American  Indians.  Creatures  of 
this  species  they  never  killed,  and  some  tribes  took  tlieir 
mime  from  it.  Thus  the  Ba  Taung  are  the  people  of  the 
lion;  the  Bamangwato  have  the  duyker  antelope  for 
their  totem  ;  aiul  in  the  Basuto  pitso  (juiltlic  meetinir)  an 
orator  will  begin  by  addressing  his  audience  as  "  sons  of 
the  crocodile."  Of  human  sacrifices  there  seems  to  be  no 
trace.  Men  were  killed  for  all  possible  reasons,  but  never 
as  offerings.  And,  indeed,  to  have  so  killed  them  would 
have  been  to  treat  the  ghosts  as  cannibals,  a  view  foreign 
to  native  habits,  for  though  human  flesh  has  been  resorted 
to  in  times  of  severe  famine,  it  has  never  been  regidarly 
eaten,  and  the  use  of  it  excites  disgust. 

Whether  the  Kafirs  had  any  idea  of  a  suin-eme  being  is 
a  question  which  has  been  much  discussed.  In  several 
tribes  the  word,  differently  si)ell..d  "  Umlimo  "  or  "  Mlimo  " 
or  " Molimo "  (said  to  mean  "hidden"  or  "unseen"),  is 
used  to  denote  either  a  power  apparently  different  from 
that  of  the  nature  sprites  or  ghosts  of  the  dead,  or  else 


'•i 


P 


;  I 


i 


02 


IMI'KESSIONS   OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


% 


1  ^ 


tlio  i)roph('t  f>r  soothsayer  who  delivers  messages  or 
orades  supposed  to  einanate  from  this  power.  The 
missionaries  liave  in  tlieir  native  versions  of  the  Bible 
used  the  term  to  translate  the  word  "  God."  Sometimes, 
among  the  Tongas  at  least,  the  word  tilo  (sky)  is  used 
to  describe  a  mysterious  force ;  as,  for  instance,  when  a 
man  dies  without  any  apparent  malady,  he  is  said  to  be 
killed  by  the  fih>.^  On  the  whole,  after  many  iucpiiries 
from  missionaries  and  others  who  know  the  natives  well, 
I  was  led  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Kafirs  have  a  vague 
notion  of  some  power  transcending  that  of  common  ghosts, 
and  able  to  affect  the  operations  of  nature  (as,  for  instance, 
to  send  rain),  but  far  too  dimly  conceived  to  be  ])roperly 
describable  as  a  divine  being.  Or  to  put  the  thing  in  other 
words,  the  ordinary  and  familiar  nature  sprites  and  ghosts 
of  the  departed  do  not  exhaust  the  possibilities  of  super- 
human agency ;  for  there  remains,  as  among  the  Athen- 
ians, whose  altar  St.  Paul  found  (Acts  xvii,  23),  an 
''  unknown  God,"  or  rather  unknown  power,  probably  as- 
sociated with  the  heavens  above,  whose  interference  may 
produce  results  not  otherwise  attainable.  One  of  the 
difficulties  in  reaching  any  knowledge  of  the  real  belief  of 
the  people  is  that  tliey  are  usually  examined  by  leading 
questions,  and  are  apt  to  reply  affirmatively  to  whatever  the 
querist  puts  to  them.  Their  thoughts  on  these  dark  sub- 
jects are  either  extremely  vague  and  misty  or  extremely 
material ;  the  w^orld  of  abstract  thought,  in  which  European 
minds  have  learned  to  move  with  an  ease  and  confidence 
jn-oduced  by  the  possession  of  a  whole  arsenal  of  theologi- 
cal and  metaphysical  phrases,  being  to  them  an  undiscov- 
ered country. 

1  As  in  Homer's  day  sudden  deaths  were  attributed  to  the  arrows 
of  Apollo  or  Artemis. 


^f 


t 


THE  KAFIK8 


03 


SiiK'e  there  were  no  deities  and  no  idols,  there  wer«'  no 
priests;  but  the  want  of  priests  was  ('onii)ensuted  by  the 
presence  of  wizards^  for  among  the  Kafirs,  as  anionj; 
other  primitive  i)eoples,  there  was  and  is  an  a))sohite  belief 
in  the  power  of  sj)ells,  and  of  soreery  generally.  These  wiz- 
ards, like  the  medieine  men  among  the  Red  Indians,  were 
an  important  elass,  seeond  only  to  the  ehiefs.  They  were 
not  a  easte,  though  very  often  the  son  of  a  wizard  would  be 
brought  uj)  to  the  profession.  The  i)raetitioners  were  on 
the  lookout  for  promising  boys,  and  would  take  and  train 
one  to  witchcraft,  ini})arting  their  secrets,  which  included 
a  renuirkable  knowledge  of  the  properties  of  vari(»us  }>hints 
available  for  poison  or  healing.  Somtftimes  the  wizard 
acted  as  a  physician ;  sometimes  he  wcmld  attempt  to  make 
rain  ;  sometimes  he  would  profess  to  deliver  messages  from 
the  unseen  world,  and  in  these  cases  he  nught  become  a 
terrible  i)ower  for  mischief.  Such  a  revelation  nuide  to 
the  Kosa  clans  on  the  south  coast  in  18.j()-57,  directing 
them  to  kill  their  cattle  and  destroy  their  grain,  be(!ause 
the  ghosts  of  their  ancestors  were  coming  to  drive  out  the 
whites,  led  to  the  death  by  famine  of  more  than  30,000 
people.  Such  a  revelation  i)roceeding  from  a  soothsayer, 
occasionally  Cidled  the  Mlimo,  who  dwelt  in  a  cavern  among 
granite  rocks  in  the  Matoppo  Hills  at  a  i)lace  called  Mato- 
jeni,  southeast  of  Bulawayo '  (oracles  have  always  tended 
to  come  from  caves),  had  much  to  do  with  the  rising  of  the 
Matabili  in  189G.  But  the  most  freciueut  and  most  formi- 
dable work  done  by  the  wizard  was  that  of  *•  smelling  out " 
persons  who  were  bewitching  others  so  as  ^o  cause  sickness  or 

1  This  Mlimo— wliether  the  luiine  is  properly  applioal)le  to  the 
divinity,  whatever  it  v^'as,  or  to  the  prophet,  seems  doubtful— be- 
longed to  the  Makalakas,  but  was  revered  by  the  Matabili  who  con- 
quered them. 


"'tj' 


r 


1)1 1 


"I 


■\  • 


I 


n 


lU 


I 


*i 


,  '■  * 


M 


IMl'li'ESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFKICA 


inist'ortuno.  Inthislimn('l»()t'liis])r()f('ssiontli(Mvizar(l(»ften 
beeuiiio  tlio  eii^niif  of  tlu'  jcjilousy  or  rapacity  of  the  cliicf, 
who  would  secretly  j)roinpt  him  to  denounce  a  prominent  or 
a  wealthy  man.  Suspicion  beinj;  once  roused,  the  victim 
had  little  chance:  h(Mvas  despatched,  and  his  jn'operty  seized 
l)y  the  cliief.  Witchcraft,  and  the  nnirders  it  gave  rise  to, 
have  been  the  darkest  side:  of  native  life.  The  sorcerer  has 
usually  been  the  enemy  of  the  niissiomiry,  who  threatens 
his  pains;  but  his  power  is  now  generally  declining,  and 
the  British  government  forbids  the  practice  of  smelling 
out  witclies,  as  well  as  many  other  shocking  and  disgust- 
ing rites  which  used  to  accompany  the  admission  of  boys 
and  girls  to  the  status  of  adults,  or  were  practised  at  sun- 
dry festivals.  Of  the  faith  in  minor  and  harmless  spells  one 
finds  instances  everywhere.  In  Matabililand,  for  instance, 
a  boy  was  pointed  out  to  ine  who  had  just  been  occu})ied 
in  putting  a  charm  into  the  footprint  of  a  lion,  in  order  to 
j)revent  the  unwelcome  visitor  from  returning ;  and  nearly 
every  native  wears  some  kind  of  annilet.  These  beliefs 
will  take  a  long  time  to  die,  but  the  missionaries  have  now 
usually  the  good  sense  to  see  that  they  do  little  harm. 

As  their  religious  customs  were  rather  less  sanguinary 
than  those  of  the  Guinea  coast  negroes,  so  tho  Kafirs  them- 
selves were  somewhat  nu)re  advanced  in  civilization. 
Compared  with  the  Red  Indians  of  America,  they  stood 
at  a  point  lower  than  that  of  the  Iroquois  or  Cherokees,  but 
superior  to  the  Utes  or  to  the  Diggers  of  the  Pa(dfic  coast. 
They  coidd  work  in  iron  and  copper,  and  had  some  notions 
of  ornament.  Theii*  music  was  rude,  but  not  wholly  devoid 
of  melody,  and  they  used  instruments  of  stone,  wood,  and 
iron,  by  striking  which  a  kind  of  tune  can  be  played. 
They  had  some  simple  games,  and  a  folk-lore  which  con- 
sisted chiefly  in  animal  tales,  resembling  those  collected 


SEE 


THE   KAlUUt* 


or. 


1)V  Mr.  Iliiri'is  in  his  *' riido  Rciims,"  save  that  tlio  liiiir 
j)lavs  aiiioii^'  the  liaiitu  pcoph's  tho  part  of  Hrcr  Rabbit.' 
To  jtoctrv,  even  in  its  most  rudiiiH'iitarv  forms,  they  do  not 
seem  to  liavt'  attained.  Vet  tiicy  wcw  ity  no  nn-ans  ^vant- 
inj;  in  intt'lli^cnc*',  and  liad,  witli  less  piirty,  more  siiise 
of  dipiity  and  more  persistenee  in  their  i)nr|ioses  tlian  the 
Guinea  nejrro. 

Wlien  tlie  Portu^'uese  and  Dnteli  iirst  knew  the  Kafirs, 
they  did  not  apjiear  to  be  makiii};  any  i)rojxress  toward  a 
lii^liei 


dti 


H. 


lifi 


heUl 


•h 


iman 
were  in  a  (le^rraded  state,  and  sexual  morality  at  a  low  ehh. 
Couraj;:e,  loyalty  to  chief  and  tribe,  and  hosj)itality  were 
the  three  prominent  virtues.  War  was  the  only  pursuit  in 
whieh  chieftains  sinijjfht  distinction,  and  war  was  mere 
slau^'hter  and  devastation,  unaccompanied  by  any  views 
of  policy  or  i)hins  of  administration.  The  people  were— 
and  indeed  still  are— passionately  attached  to  their  old 
customs,  which  even  a  kingf  rarely  ventured  to  disturb 
(though  Tshaka  is  said  to  have  abolished  amonp  his  sub- 
jects the  rite  of  circumcision,  which  is  f?enerally  practised 
by  the  Kafirs) :  and  it  was  probably  as  much  the  unwillinfi:- 
jiess  to  have  their  customs  disturbed  as  the  aj)prehensioii 
for  their  land  that  madc^  many  of  the  tri))es  o})pose  to  the 
ad  van  (^e  of  the  Europeans  so  obstinate  a  resistance. 
Though  they  feared  the  firearms  of  the  whites,  whom  they 
called  wizards,  it  was  a  long  time  before  they  realized  tiieir 
hopeless  inferiority,  and  the  impossibility  of  prevailing  in 
war.   Their  minds  were  mostly  too  childish  to  recollect  and 


1  Sevenxl  collections  have  been  made  of  these  tales.  The  first  is 
that  of  Bishop  Callaway,  the  latest  those  of  Mr.  Jacottet,  a  Swiss 
niissiouary  in  Basutoland  (Contes  Populaires  des  Bassoutos)  and  of 
Mr.  Junod,  a  Swiss  missionary  at  Delagoa  Bay  (Les  Chants  et  les 
Contes  des  Ba-Ronga)  both  very  interesting  books. 


ii 


,1 

(1; 

M 


Ifi'l 


•• 


IMI'RKSHIONS  OF   SOl'TII    AIKK'A 


■  I 
,1' 


'I 


;it 


i 


,i ' : 


Hi 


draw  the  iieccssarv  iiitVroii('<'s  from  previous  (let'«'(its,  ami 
IIm'V  never  realized  that  the  whites  possessed  l)evoii(l  the  sea 
an  iiiexhaustilUe  reservoir  of  men  and  weapons.  Kven  the 
visit  of  Lo  Ben<;ula's  envoys  to  Kujjrland  in  1S«)1.  when 
tiiev  were  HJiown  all  the  wonders  of  London,  in  order  that 
through  them  the  Matahili  nation  mijifht  he  deterred  from 
the  folly  of  an  attac^k  on  tla»  whites,  failed  to  produce  any 
effect.  In  18y:{  the  young  warriors  elamore«l  for  war, 
fully  persmided  that  they  could  destroy  tln^  few  stranj^ers 
in  their  countrv  as  easilv  as  thev  had  overthrown  the  Ma- 
j^lionas.  The  only  chiefs  who  seem  to  have  fully  grasped 
th<'  relative  strength  of  the  Europeans,  and  thus  to  liave 
formed  stdiemes  of  policy  suitable  to  their  inferior  position, 
were  Moshesh,  who  profited  hy  the  advice  of  the  French 
missionaries,  and  Khanui,  who  was  himself  a  Christian 
and  the  pupil  of  missionaries.  Nor  did  any  chief  ever  rise 
to  the  conception  of  forming  a  league  of  Ijlacks  against 
whites. 

The  natives,  as  we  shall  see,  havt^  had  har.sh  treatment 
from  the  .Europeans.  Many  unjust  things,  numy  cruel 
things,  many  things  which  would  excite  liorror  if  practised 
in  European  warfare,  have  been  done  against  them.  But 
whoever  tries  to  strike  the  balance  of  good  and  evil  due  to 
the  coming  of  the  whites  must  remember  what  the  condi« 
tion  of  the  country  was  before  the  whites  came.  As  be- 
tween the  different  tribes  there  was  neither  justice  nor 
])ity,  but  simply  the  rule  of  the  strongest,  unmitigated 
by  any  feeling  of  religion  or  morality.  In  war  non-com- 
batants as  well  as  combatants  were  ruthlessly  slaughtered, 
or  reserved  onlv  for  slavery ;  and  war  was  the  normal  state 
of  things.  Within  each  tribe  a  measure  of  peace  and  order 
was  maintained.  But  the  weak  had  a  hard  time,  and  those 
who  were  rich,  or  had  roused  the  ennuty  of  some  powerful 


THE   KAFIKS 


l>7 


man,  were  at  any  njoiiu'iit  liabh'  to  perish  on  tin*  char^'o 
of  witchcraft.  In  sonu*  trihrs,  such  as  tin-  Matabili,  in- 
ccssant  shiuj^jlitcr  went  on  by  tlic  orders  of  the  kin^. 
Nothinj^'  less  than  tiie  [jrolilic  (quality  of  the  race  conM 
have  kept  South  Africa  well  peopled  in  the  t<'eth  of  such 
a  waste  of  life  as  went  on  by  war  and  murder. 

Of  the  cluiracter  of  the  individual  native  as  it  alTects 
his  present  relations  with  the  whites,  and  the  probable 
future  of  the  race,  I  shall  have  to  speak  in  a  later  chapter, 
as  also  of  the  (condition  and  prospects  of  the  Christian  mis- 
sions whi<>}i  exist  among  them,  and  which  form  the  main 
civilizing  iuHueucu  now  at  work. 


(1 


'11 


/  H 


.1^1" '■■  I  mm 


i 


I' 


» 


i   iih 


w ,  ill^ 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  EUROPEANS  IN   SOUTH  AFRICA   TILL   1854 

IT  is  no  I'^ss  true  of  South  Africa  tiiau  it  is  of  the  old 
countries  of  Europe  that  to  understand  the  temper  of 
the  people,  the  working  of  their  government,  the  nature 
of  the  political  problems  which  they  have  to  solve,  one 
must  know  something  of  their  history.  South  Africa  has 
had  a  great  deal  of  history,  especially  in  the  i)resent  cen- 
tury, and  there  are  few  places  in  which  recollections  of  the 
past  are  more  powerful  factors  in  the  troubles  of  the  pres- 
ent. In  the  short  sketch  I  propose  to  give  I  shall  advert 
only  to  the  chief  events,  and  particularly  to  those  whose 
importance  is  still  felt  and  which  have  done  most  to  deter- 
mine the  relations  of  the  European  races  to  one  another. 
The  constitutional  and  parliamentary  history  of  the  two 
British  colonies  and  the  two  Boer  republics  has  been  short 
and  not  specially  interesting.  The  military  history  has 
been  on  a  snuill  scale.  The  economic  and  industrial  his- 
tory has  been  simple  and  in  no  way  remarkable.  But  the 
history  of  the  dealings  of  the  white  races  with  one  another 
and  with  the  blacks  is  both  peculiar  and  instructive,  and 
well  deserves  a  far  fuller  nan ative  and  far  more  elaborate 
treatment  than  I  have  space  to  give  it. 

Four  European  races  have  occupied  the  country.     Of 

98 


Of 


THE   EUROPEANS   IN   SOUTH   AFRICA  TILL   1854      09 

those,  however,  who  came  witli  Vasco  da  Gama  from 
Lisbon  in  1497  we  shall  have  little  to  say,  and  of  those 
who  followed  Herr  Luderitz  from  Bremen  in  1883  still 
less.  The  interest  of  the  tale  lies  in  the  struggles  of  two 
branches  of  the  same  Low-German  stock,  the  Dutch  and 
the  English. 

The  first  to  appear  on  the  scene  were  the  men  of  Portu- 
gal, then  in  the  fresh  springtime  of  its  power  and  with 
what  seemed  a  splendid  career  of  discovery  and  concpicst 
opening  before  it.'  Bartholomew  Diaz,  whose  renown  has 
been  unjustly  obscured  by  that  of  Vasco  da  Gama,  disciov- 
ered  the  Cape  of  Storms,  as  he  called  it,— the  name  of 
Good  Hope  was  given  by  King  John  II,— in  148(1,  and 
explored  the  coast  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Great 
Fish  Kiver.  In  1497-98  Da  Gama,  on  his  famous  voyage 
to  India,  followed  the  southern  and  eastern  coast  to 
Melinda;  and  in  1502,  on  his  second  voyage,  after  touch- 
ing at  Delagoa  Bay,  he  visited  Sofala,  which  was  then  the 
port  to  which  most  of  the  gold  and  ivory  came  from  the 
interior.  Here  he  found  Arabs  established  in  the  town, 
as  they  were  in  other  maritime  trading  })laces  all  the 
way  north  to  Mombasa.  At  what  date  they  first  settled 
here  is  unknown ;  probably  they  had  traded  along  the 
coast  from  tinu's  long  before  Mohammed.  They  were 
superior  to  the  native  blacks,  though  mixed  in  blood,  Init  of 
course  far  inferior  to  the  Portuguese,  who  overthrew  their 
power.  In  1305  the  Portuguese  built  a  fort  at  Sofala,  and 
from  there  and  several  other  points  along  the  coast  prose- 
cuted their  trade  with  the  inland  regions,  using  the 
contjuered  Arabs  as  their  agents.     For  a  century  they  re- 

1  The  l)est  reeoiit  account  of  the  doings  of  the  Portuguese  is  to  be 
found  in  Dr.  Theal's  book,  "The  Portuguese  in  South  Africa,"  pub- 
lished in  1896. 


1 


"  I 


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•aaMMMIW 


100 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AP^KKJA 


'I    I 


!■'  * 


maiued  the  sole  masters  not  only  of  the  Southeast  Afrit^an 
seaboard,  but  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  no  vessel  of  any  other 
Eurojiean  country  appearing  to  dispute  their  preeniinenee. 
Th(!y  might,  had  they  eared,  have  occupied  and  appro- 
priated tlie  whole  southern  half  of  the  continent;  ^ut  in 
the  sixteenth  century  it  was  not  of  (Mdonization,  nor  even 
so  much  of  couipiest,  that  monarchs,  governors,  and  navi- 
gators thought,  but  of  gold.  Portugal  had  no  surplus 
population  to  si)are  for  settling  her  new  territories,  and— 
not  to  speak  of  Brazil— she  had  a  far  licher  trade  to 
ilevelop  in  western  India  than  anything  which  Africa 
could  offer.  It  may  now  excite  surprise  that  she  should 
have  taken  no  step  to  claim  the  long  stretch  of  country 
whose  shores  her  sailors  had  explored,  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Orange  Hiver  on  the  west  to  that  of  the  Limpopo  on 
the  east.  But  there  was  no  gold  to  be  had  there,  and  a 
chance  skirmish  with  the  Hottentots  in  Table  B{iv,inwliicli 
the  viceroy  D'Almeida,  returning  from  India,  was  killed 
in  1510,  gave  them  a  false  notion  of  the  danger  to  be 
feared  from  that  people,  who  were  in  reality  one  of  the 
weakest  and  least  formidable  among  African  races. 

Accordingly,  the  Portuguese,  who  might  have  possessed 
themselves  of  the  temperate  and  healthy  regions  which  we 
now  call  Cape  Colony  and  Natal,  confined  their  settlements 
to  the  malarious  country  north  of  the  tropic  of  Capricorn. 
Here  they  made  two  or  three  attenii)ts,  chiefly  by  moving 
up  the  valley  of  the  Zambesi,  to  conquer  the  native  triljes, 
or  to  support  against  his  neighbors  some  chieftain  who  was 
to  become  their  vassal.  Their  numbers  were,  however,  too 
small,  and  they  were  too  feebly  supported  from  home,  to 
enable  them  to  secure  success.  When  they  desisted  from 
these  attempts,  their  missionaries,  chiefly  Dominican  friars, 
though  some  Jesuits  were  also  engaged  in  the  work,  main 


i\\^ 


THE  EUKOPEANS  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA  TILL  1854       101 

tained  an  active  propaganda  among  tlu'  tribes,  and  at  one 
time  counted  their  converts  by  thousands.  Not  only  mis- 
sionaries, but  small  trading-i)arties,  penetrated  the  mys- 
terious interior;  and  one  or  two  light  cannons,  as  well  as 
articles  whicli  must  have  come  to  Africa  from  India,  such 
as  fragments  of  Indian  and  Chinese  pottery,  have  been 
found  manv  hundred  miles  from  the  sea. 

But  on  the  whole  the  Portuguese  exerted  very  little 
permanent  influence  on  the  country  and  its  inhabitants. 
The  missions  died  out,  most  of  the  forts  crumbled  awav 
or  were  abandon<'d,  an<l  all  idea  of  further  concpiest  had 
been  dro})ped  before  the  end  of  last  century.  There  were, 
indeed,  two  fatal  obsta«des  to  coi^piest  or  civilization. 
One  was  the  extreme  unhcalthiness  both  of  the  flat  country 
which  lies  between  the  sea  and  the  edge  of  the  great  in- 
terior plateau,  and  of  the  whole  Zambesi  Valley,  up  which 
most  of  the  attemi)ts  at  an  advance  had  been  made.  Fever 
not  only  decimated  the  expeditions  and  the  garrisons  of 
the  forts,  but  enervated  the  main  body  of  settlers  who 
remained  on  the  coast,  soon  reducing  whatever  enterprise 
or  vigor  they  had  bi-ought  from  Europe.  The  othei*  was 
the  tendency  of  the  Poi-tuguese  to  mingle  their  blood  with 
that  of  the  natives.  Very  few  women  were  brought  out 
from  home,  so  that  a  mixed  race  soon  sprang  uj),  calling 
themselves  Portuguese,  but  much  inferior  to  the  natives 
of  Portugal.  The  Portuguese,  even  more  than  the  S})an- 
iards,  have  shown  both  in  Brazil  and  in  Afi'ica  comi)ara- 
tively  little  of  that  racial  contempt  for  the  blacks,  and  that 
aversion  to  intimate  social  relations  with  them,  which  have 
l)een  so  characteristic  of  the  Dutch  and  the  English. 
There  have,  of  course,  been  a  good  many  mulattos  born 
of  Dutch  fathers  in  Africa,  as  of  Anglo-American  fathers 
in  the  West  Indies  and  in  the  former  slave  States  of  North 


% 


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IMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


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I 


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Jill        ' 


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\ 

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■i 

f,       ' 

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IP 

Hji 

AmeFiCa.  But  the  Dutch  or  English  mulatto  w.  almost 
always  treated  as  belonging  to  the  black  race,  and  entirely 
below  the  level  of  the  meanest  white,  whereas  among  the 
Portuguese  a  strong  infusion  of  black  blood  did  not  neces- 
sarily carry  with  it  social  disparity.^ 

In  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  Dutch, 
prosecuting  their  war  against  the  Spanish  monarchy,  which 
had  acquired  the  crown  of  Portugal  in  1581  and  held  it  till 
1040,  attacked  the  Portuguese  forts  on  the  East  African 
coast,  but  after  a  few  years  abandoned  an  enterprise  in 
wiiich  there  was  little  to  gain,  and  devoted  their  efforts  to 
tli«^  more  profitable  field  of  the  East  Indies.  With  this  ex- 
ceptio'i,  no  European  power  troubled  the  Portuguese  in 
Africa.  They  had,  however,  frequent  conflicts  with  the 
natives,  and  in  1834  were  driven  from  their  fort  at  Inham- 
bane,  between  Sofala  and  Delagoa  Bay,  and  in  1836  from 
Sofala  itself,  which,  however,  they  subsequently  recovered. 
It  was  not  till  the  progress  of  inland  discovery,  and  espe- 
cially the  establishment  of  a  Boer  republic  in  the  Trans- 
vaal, had  made  the  coast  seem  valuable  that  two  new  and 
formidable  rivals  appeared  on  the  scene. 

Under  the  combined  operation  of  these  causes  such 
power  as  Portugal  possessed  on  this  coast  declined  during 
the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries.  Except  on  the 
deadly  banks  of  the  Zambesi,  she  never  had  a  permanent 
settlement  more  than  fifty  miles  from  the  coast,  and  very 
few  so  far.  The  population  that  spoke  Portuguese  and 
professed  Christianity  did  not  exceed  a  few  thousands,  and 
of  these  the  large  majority  were  at  least  half  Kafir  in 

1  Maeeo,  the  well-known  leader  of  the  Cuban  insurgents  who  was 
killed  in  1896,  was  a  :milatto,  in  whose  band  there  were  plenty  of 
pure  whites.  In  no  Southern  State  of  North  America  would  white 
men  have  followed  a  mulatto. 


THK  f,  '^OPEANS  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA  TILL  1H54     103 


blood.  It  was  pi:;  -  that  such  life  and  force  as  the  nation 
had  possessed  haa,  at  any  rate  in  Africa,  died  out,  and  that 
if  ever  the  continent  was  to  be  developed  it  would  not  be 
by  the  race  that  had  first  explored  it.  Here,  therefore, 
we  inav  leave  the  eastern  coast  and  the  feeble  settlers, 
who  shivered  with  ague  in  its  swamps,  and  turn  ou'  eyes 
to  the  far  south,  where  a  new  and  more  vigorous  race  be- 
gan, a  century  and  a  half  after  the  tir.  e  of  Vasco  da  Gama, 
to  lay  the  foundations  of  a  new  dominion. 

The  first  Teutonic  people  that  entered  the  African  con- 
tinent were  the  Vandals  in  the  fifth  centurv.  Thev  came 
across  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar  as  conquerors,  ])ut  they  soon 
established  a  powerful  fleet  and  acquired  a  maritime  em- 
pire in  the  western  Mediterranean.  The  second  V)and  of 
Teutons  to  enter  were  the  Dutch.  They  were  already  a  sea 
power  powerful  in  the  far  East,  whither  they  had  been  led 
by  their  wf  j*  with  Spain.  But  they  did  not  come  as  con- 
querors, nor  even  as  settlers  intending  to  build  up  a  colonial 
community.  They  came  to  establish  a  place  of  call  for  their 
vessels  trading  to  India,  where  fresh  water  might  be  pro 
cured  and  vegetables  be  obtained  for  their  crews,  who 
suffered  terribly  from  scurvy  on  the  voyage  of  six  months 
or  mora  from  the  Netherlands  to  the  ports  of  Farther 
India.  From  the  early  years  of  the  seventeenth  century 
both  Dutch  and  English  vessels  had  been  in  the  habit  of 
putting  in  to  Table  Bay  to  refit  and  get  fresh  water.  In- 
deed, in  1620  two  English  commanders  had  landed  there 
and  proclaimed  the  sovereignty  of  King  James  I,  though 
tlieij'  action  was  not  ratified  either  by  the  king  or  by  the 
English  East  India  Company.  In  1648  a  shipwrecked 
Du^jch  crew  spent  six  months  in  Table  Valley,  behind  the 
spot  where  Cape  Town  now  stands,  and  having  some  seeds 
with  them,  planted  vegetables  and  got  a  good  crop.    They 


(I 


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104 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFKICA 


i,  » 


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represented  on  their  return  to  Holland  the  advantages  of 
the  spot,  and  in  \C}i)2  three  vessels  despatched  by  the 
Dutch  East  India  Company  disembarked  a  body  of  settlers, 
under  the  command  of  Jan  van  Riel)eek,  who  were  directed 
to  build  a  fort  and  hospital,  and,  above  all,  to  raise  vege- 
tables and  obtain  from  the  Hottentots  supplies  of  fresh 
meat  for  passing  ships.  Thus  it  is  from  the  small  begin- 
nings of  a  kitchen-garden  that  Dutch  and  British  dominion 
in  South  Africa  has  grown  up. 

The  history  of  this  Dutch  settlement  presents  a  singular 
(contrast  to  that  of  the  Portuguese.  During  the  first  (piar- 
ter  of  a  century  the  few  settlers  kept  themselves  within  the 
narrow  limits  of  the  Cape  peninsula.  In  IGSO  an  outly- 
ing agricultural  community  was  jdanted  at  Stellenbosch, 
twenty-five  miles  from  (*ai)e  Town,  but  not  till  the  end  of 
the  century  was  tlie  first  range  of  mountains  crossed. 
Meantime  the  population  began  to  grow.  In  1 G58  the  first 
slaves  were  introduced,— West  African  negroes,— a  deplor- 
able step,  which  has  had  the  result  of  making  the  South 
African  whites  averse  to  open-air  manual  work  and  of  prac- 
tically condemning  South  Africa  to  be  a  country  of  l)lack 
labor.  Shortly  afterward  the  Company  Ijegan  to  bring 
in  Asiatic  convicts,  mostly  Mohamnunlan  Malays,  from 
its  territories  in  the  East  Indian  Archipelago.  These  men 
internuirried  with  the  female  slaves,  and  to  a  less  extent 
with  Hottentot  women,  and  from  them  a  mixed  dark  popu- 
lation has  sprung  up,whi('h  forins  a  large  part  of  the  popu- 
lation of  Cape  Town  and  the  neigliboring  districts.  The 
influx  of  these  inferior  elements  was  balanced  by  the  arrival 
in  1689  of  about  three  hundred  French  Huguenots,  a  part  of 
those  who  had  taken  refuge  in  Holland  after  the  revocation 
of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  by  Louis  XIV.  They  were  persons 
of  a  high  stamp,  more  intelligent  and  educated  than  most  of 


i" 


THE  EUROPEANS  IN  SOUTH  AFKICA  TH.L  1834      105 


h 


tho  previous  settlers  liad  been,  and  tliey  broujrlit  witli  tlum 
a  strong  attaelinient  to  their  Protestant  faitli  and  a  love  of 
liberty.  From  them  many  of  the  best  eolonial  families  are 
sprnng.  At  first  they  elnng  to  their  language,  and  sought 
to  form  a  distinct  religious  eommunity ;  but  they  were  ulti- 
mately compelled  to  join  the  Dutch  Keformed  Church,  and 
the  use  of  French  was  forbidden  in  official  docum«'nts  or 
religious  services.  Before  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century  that  language  had  disapi)eared  and  the  newcomers 
had  practically  amalgamated  with  their  Dutch  neighbors. 
The  Company's  government  was  intolerant,  and  did  not 
until  17S0  jxTmit  the  establishment  of  a  Lutheran  church, 
{lithe mgh  many  German  Lutherans  had  settled  in  the 
country. 

From  the  time  when  the  settlers  began  to  spread  out 
from  the  coast  into  the  dry  lands  of  the  interior  a  great 
change  came  upon  them,  and  what  we  now  call  the  distinc- 
tive South  African  type  of  character  and  habits  began  to 
appear.  The  first  immigrants  were  not,  like  many  of  the 
English  settlers  in  Virginia,  men  of  good  social  position  in 
their  own  c(mntrv,  attached  to  it  bv  manv  ties,  nor,  like  the 
English  settlers  in  the  New  England  colonies,  men  of  good 
education  and  serious  temper,  seeking  the  freedom  to  wor- 
ship God  in  their  own  way.  They  came  from  the  humbler 
classes,  and  partly  because  they  had  few  home  ties,  jjartly 
because  the  voyage  to  Holland  was  so  long  that  communi- 
cation with  it  was  difficult,  thej'^  maintained  little  connec- 
tion with  the  mother  country  and  soon  lost  their  feeling 
for  it.  The  Huguenot  immigrants  were  more  cultivated, 
and  socially  superior  to  the  rude  adventurers  who  had 
formed  the  bulk  of  the  Dutch  settlers,  but  they  had  of 
course  no  home  country  to  look  to.  France  had  cast 
them  out;  Holland  was  alien  in  blood  and  speech.     So  it 


it 


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1 

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i 


106 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


iH'fcU  that  tlie  South  African  whites  wero,  of  all  the  colo- 
nists that  Europe  had  sent  out  since  the  voyage  of  Colum- 
l)us,  those  who  soonest  lost  their  bond  with  Europe,  and 
were  the  first  set  of  coh)nists  to  feel  themselves  a  new 
people,  whose  true  home  lay  in  the  new  land  they  had 
adopted.  Thus  early  in  South  African  annals  were  the 
foundations  laid  of  what  we  now  call  the  Africander  sen- 
timent—a sentiment  which  has  become  one  of  the  main 
factors  in  the  recent  history  of  the  country. 

Nor  wr-  this  '^  I.  When  the  comparatively  small  area 
of  fertile  i  .';,i  \  ich  could  be  cultivated  without  irrigation 
had  been  tiii>  "  the  keeping  of  cattle  suggested  itself 
as  an  easy  m^uns  t  f  ^'velihood.  The  pasture,  however, 
was  so  thin  that  it  was  necessary  to  graze  the  cattle  over 
wide  stretches  of  gi'ound,  and  the  farther  they  went  into 
the  interior  the  scantier  was  the  pasture  and  the  larger 
therefore  did  the  area  of  land  become  over  which  a  farmer 
let  his  oxen  or  sheep  run.  This  process  of  extending  cattle- 
farms— if  farms  they  can  be  called— over  the  interior  was 
materially  accelerated  through  the  destruction  of  the  nearer 
Hottentot  tribes  b-*  the  frightful  outbreak  |of  smallpox 
which  began  in  a.  d.  1713,  followed  by  another  not  less 
virulent  in  1755.  The  Europeans  suffered  severely  from  it, 
the  negroes,  slave  and  free,  still  more,  but  the  Hottentots 
most  of  all.  In  fact,  it  cleared  them  away  from  all  the 
southern  and  western  parts  of  the  Colony  and  left  these 
regiony  open  to  Europeans.  Only  the  Bushmen  remained, 
whose  more  solitary  life  gave  then\  comparative  immunity 
from  contagion.  Thus  from  the  beginning  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century,  and  during  the  whole  of  it,  there  was  a 
constant  dispersion  of  settlers  from  the  old  nucleus  into 
the  circumjacent  wilderness.  They  were  required  to  pay 
a  rent  or  tax  amounting  to  twenty-one  dollars  a  year 


■!,■,! 
ii.;, 


0 


THE  EUROPEANS  IN  SOUTH  AFItlCA  TH^L  1854     107 

for  the  use  of  three  tliousund  moraen  (six  thousaiul  aeres) 
of  grazing- ground,  and  were  accustomed  at  certain  seasons 
to  drive  theii*  herds  up  into  the  deserts  of  the  Karioo  for 
a  change  of  feed,  just  after  the  time  when  the  summer 
rains  stimulate  tlie  scrubby  vegetation  of  that  desert  re- 
gion. Tliese  settlers  led  a  lonely  and  almost  nomadii;  life. 
-Much  of  their  time  was  passed  in  their  tent-wagons,  in 
which,  with  their  wives  and  children,  they  followed  the 
cattle  from  spoi  to  si)ot  where  the  pasture  was  best.  They 
became  excellent  marksmen  and  expert  in  the  pursuit  of 
wild  beasts.  Some  made  a  living  by  elephant-hunting  in 
the  wilderness,  and  those  who  tended  cattle  learned  to  face 
the  lion.  They  were  much  molested  by  the  F  shmen,  whose 
stealthy  attacks  and  poisoned  arrows  made  u'.er  langerous 
enemies,  and  they  carried  on  with  the  '  ttex  constant 
war,  in  which  no  quarter  was  given.  Tl  -  ti  ere  developed 
among  them  that  courage,  self-reliance,  ai  i  love  of  inde- 
pendence which  are  characteristic  o'  th^  frontiersman 
everywhere,  coupled  with  a  love  of  soi...iKle  and  isolation 
which  the  conditions  of  western  America  did  not  produce. 
For  in  western  America  the  numbers  and  ferocity  of  the 
Red  Indians,  and  the  resources  of  the  land  encouraging 
the  formation  of  agricultural  and  lumber-producing  com- 
munities, made  villages  follow  the  march  of  discovery  and 
conquest,  while  in  pastoral  South  Africa  villages  were  few 
and  extremely  small.  Isolation  and  the  wild  life  these 
ranchmen  led  soon  told  upon  their  habits.  The  children 
grew  up  ignorant ;  the  women,  as  was  natural  where  slaves 
were  employed,  lost  the  neat  and  cleanly  ways  of  their 
Dutch  ancestors ;  the  men  were  rude,  bigoted,  indifferent  to 
the  comforts  and  graces  of  life.  But  they  retained  their  reli- 
gious earnestness,  carrying  their  Bibles  and  the  practice  of 
daily  family  worship  with  them  in  their  wanderings ;  and 


ii 


(I 


! 


h\ 


in 


i; 


m 


108 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AKHK'A 


1",  U 


;l    ' 


,UI 


* 

1 

r 

1 

1 

< 

» 

I         I    K! 


thoy  retained  also  a  passion  for  freedom  which  the  govern- 
ment vainly  endeavored  to  restrain.  Though  magistrates, 
culled  Ian(Itlr(fsts,  were  plaeed  in  a  few  of  the  outlying  sta- 
tions, witii  assessors  tak»'n  from  the  peo])le,ealled//ffy//*v/f/f», 
to  assist  tliem  in  administering  justice,  it  was  found  impos- 
sible to  maintain  control  over  the  wandering  cattle-men, 
who,  from  their  hahit  of  "trekking "from  place  to  place, 
were  called  Trek  Boers.  The  only  organization  that 
brought  them  together  was  that  which  their  ceaseless 
strife  with  the  Bushmen  enjoined.  Being  all  accustomed 
to  the  use  of  arms,  they  formed  war-parties,  which  from 
time  to  time  attacked  and  rooted  out  the  Bushmen  from 
n  disturbed  area:  and  the  goverinnent  recognized  these 
military  needs  and  methods  by  appointing  field-com- 
mandants to  each  district,  and  subordinate  oi!icers,  called 
field-cornets,  to  each  subdistrict.  These  functionaries  have 
become  the  basis  of  the  system  of  local  government  among 
the  South  African  Dutch,  and  the  war-bands,  called  com- 
mandos, have  played  a  great  part  in  the  subsequent  mili- 
tary history  of  the  country. 

The  eastward  progress  of  expansion  presently  brought 
the  settlers  into  contact  with  more  formidable  foes  in 
the  Bantu  tribes,  who  dwelt  beyond  the  Great  Fish  River. 
In  1779  some  Kafir  clans  of  the  Kosa  race  crossed  that 
river  and  drove  otf  the  cattle  of  the  farmers  to  the  west 
of  it,  and  a  war,  the  first  of  many  fiercely  f ought  Kafir 
wars,  followed,  which  ended  in  the  victory  of  the  colonists. 

All  this  while  the  Colony  had  been  ruled  by  the  Dutch 
East  India  Company  through  a  governor  and  council, 
appointed  by  the  directors  in  Holland,  and  responsible 
to  them  only— a  system  roughly  similar  to  that  which  the 
English  established  in  India  during  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury.    The  administration  was  better  or  worse  accord- 


THE  EUUurKANS  IN  SOUTH  AKlilCA  'I.  .L  1854      lUU 


lu^  to  the  rliunictt'i'  ami  cjiimcity  of  the  governor  for 
tlie  time  bt'iiij,',  but  it  was  on  tlie  wiiolr  mi|)o}>ular  with 
tlu'  i'ohiiiists,  not  ineivly  because  tliey  were  exehuh'd  from 
uU  share  in  it  (exeept  to  some  snuiil  extent  in  the  courts  of 
justiee),hut  also  lu'cause  the  Company  kept  in  its  own  hands 
a  monoi)oly  of  the  trade,  and  manaj^ed  trade  with  a  view 
to  its  own  commercial  interests  rather  tlian  to  those  of  the 
community.  Thus  discontent  j,'rew,  and  this  discontent  was 
one  of  the  (pauses  which  led  to  the  dispersion  of  the  people 
into  the  wilderness,  whose  remoteness  secured  to  tliem  a 
practical  freedom.  In  177()di.salTection  had  been  so  mu<'h 
stinndated  l)y  the  nuiladministration  of  a  weak  f,'overiu)r, 
and  bv  the  news  of  the  r-volt  of  the  Ameri<*an  <*olonies 
a<;ainst  Great  liritain,  that  delej^ates  were  sent  to  Holland 
to  denumd  redress  for  their  eonnnercial  and  otlu'r  {jfriev- 
ances,  as  well  as  a  share  in  the  jjovernment  of  the  Col- 
ony. The  Company  w>'..  by  th'ij  time  in  financial  straits, 
ami  less  powerful  with  the  States-p'neral  of  the  Nether- 
lands than  it  had  fonnerly  bcj-n.  Lon^  ne«j:otiations  fol- 
lov'ed,  reforms  were  jn'omised,  and  at  last,  in  17i)2,  two 
commissioners  were  sent  out  to  investiy;ate  and  frame 
measures  of  reform.  The  measures  they  })ronud}iatcd 
were,  however,  deemed  inadequate  by  the  more  ardent 
spirits,  and  by  those  especially  who  dwelt  in  the  outlyin*? 
districts,  where  the  grovernment  had  exerted,  and  could 
exert,  little  control.  In  1795,  first  at  Graaf-Keinet  and 
then  at  Swellendam,  the  people  rose  in  revolt,  not,  an  they 
stated,  against  the  mother  ccmntry,  but  against  the  Com- 
pany. They  turned  out  the  landdrosts,  and  set  up  minia- 
ture republics,  each  with  a  re])resentative  assembly. 

It  would  not  have  been  difficult  for  the  government  to 
have  reduced  these  risings  by  cutting  off  supplies  of  food. 
But  now  South  Africa  was  suddenly  swept  into  the  grent 


!l 


J(, 


110 


IMI'kKSSlONS  OF   SOUTH  AFKICA 


'  I 


^ 


whirlpool  of  Europonii  politics,  nnd  ovrnt«  woro  nt  hmu\ 
wliicli  imul«'  tln'sr  pt'tty  Iitcul  niovi'MU'iits  insifxiiillcunt, 
save  ill  so  fur  a  they  wcro  cviiU'iici'S  of  tin*  i  uU'pciMltnt 
spirit  of  the  people. 

From  IT.')?,  wlieii  tlie  battle  of  IMassey  was  fou{^ht,  the 
Kiifjrlish  power  in  India  had  been  rapidly  ^'r(>win^',  and  the 
Cape,  which  they  had  not  cared  to  ac(iuire  in  KL'O,  had 
now  become  in  their  eyes  a  station  of  capital  importance. 
When  war  br(>ke  out  between  Britain  and  lIoHand  in  17H1, 
the  JOnj^lish  had  attempted  to  seize  the  Colony.  l»ut  retired 
when  they  found  a  stronjr  French  force  prepared  to  aid  the 
Dutch  in  its  defense.  N(>sv  thev  were  nmiin  at  war  witli  IIol- 
land,  which,  overrun  by  the  armies  of  revolutionary  France, 
had  beconm  the  Batavian  K«'public.  In  1 7i).')  an  Fn^lish  ex- 
pedition, bearinj^  orders  from  the  Stadholder  of  the  Nether- 
lands, then  a  rcfujjee  in  Fuj^dand,  recjuirinj^  the  Company's 
oHicers  to  admit  them,  landed  at  Simon's  Bay,  and  after 
some  slijjfht  resistance  oblij^ed  Cai)e  Town  and  its  castle  to 
capitulate.  Within  a  few  months  the  insurj;ents  at  Swel- 
lendam  and  Graaf-Keinet  submitted,  and  British  troo])s 
held  the  Colony  till  1802,  when  it  was  restored  to  the 
Batavian  Republic  on  the  conclusion  of  the  peace  of 
Amiens.  Next  year,  however,  war  broke  out  afresh,  and 
the  Enf>:lisli  government,  feeling  the  extreme  importance, 
in  the  great  struggle  which  they  were  waging  with  Najx)- 
leon,  of  possessing  a  naval  stronghold  as  a  half-way  house 
to  India,  resolved  again  to  occupy  the  Cape.  In  ISOG  a 
strong  force  was  landed  in  Table  Bay,  aiul  after  one  en- 
gagement the  Dutch  cai)itulated.  In  1814  the  English 
occupation  was  turned  into  permanent  sovereignty  by  a 
formal  cession  of  the  Colony  on  the  part  of  the  then  re- 
stored Stadholder,  who  received  for  it  and  certain  Dutch 


Ml 


THE  ElltorKANS  IN  HUl'TH  AKKRA  TIJ.h  1H54      111 


possessions  in  Soutli  Anieric'u  tlit'sum  of  six  million  pounds 
sterling'  (thirty  niilli(»n  dollars). 

The  Miiropean  popidation  of  the  Colony,  whieh  was  then 
finally  transferred  to  the  rule  of  a  foreij^n  thouf^h  a  eoj;- 
nate  nation,  eonsisted  in  icSOO  of  about  27,000  p<'rs<>ns, 
mostly  (»f  Dutch,  with  a  snuiller  num))er  of  (Jerman  or 
Freneh,  desircnt.  They  luid  some  ;{0,000  black  laves,  and 
(►f  th<'  aborijjfinal  Hottentots  about  17,000  remained. 
Nearly  all  s[»oke  Dutch,  or  rather  the  rude  local  dialect 
into  which  the  Dutch  of  Holland  had  degenerated,  for  the 
descendants  of  the  Uugueiiots  had  long  sinuo  lost  their 
Freneli. 

No  j)eople  likes  bein^  handed  over  to  the  p»vernnu'nt 
of  H  diU'erent  race,  and  the  British  administration  in 
the  Colony  in  those  days  was  of  course,  thou«rh  re- 
strained  by  the  p'ueral  ])rinciples  of  En«rlish  law,  ne- 
cessarily somewhat  autocratic,  because^  no  rei)resentatiye 
institutions  had  eyer  existed  at  the  Cape.  Still  thinjjrs 
pronnsed  w<'ll  for  the  future  peace  and  ultinuite  fusion  of 
the  Dutch  and  Eni,dish  races.  They  Avere  liranches  of  the 
same  Low-Uerman  stock,  sei)arated  by  fourteen  hundred 
years  of  se]mrate  liistory,  but  similar  in  the  fundanu'ntal 
bases  of  their  respectiye  characters.  Both  were  atta(;hed 
to  lil)erty,  and  the  British  had  indeed  enjoyed  at  honu;  a 
much  fuller  measure  of  it  than  liad  the  Dutch  in  the 
settled  parts  of  the  Colony.  Both  professed  the  Protestant 
religion,  and  the  Dutch  were  less  tolerant  toward  Koman 
Catholics  than  the  English.  The  two  languages  retained 
so  much  resem))lance  that  it  was  easy  for  an  P]nglishman 
to  learn  Dutch  and  for  a  Dutchnum  to  learn  English.  An 
observer  might  have  j)redicted  that  the  two  peoj)les  would 
SM)n,  by  intercourse  and  by  intermarriage,  melt  into  one,  as 


M 


I  II 


*ri 


llii 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


I 


if'  I 


Dutch  and  English  had  done  in  New  York.  For  a  time  it 
secnu'd  as  if  this  would  certainly  come  to  pass.  The  first 
two  British  governors  were  men  of  high  character,  whose 
administration  gave  little  ground  for  complaint  to  the  old 
inhabitants.  The  Company's  restrictions  on  trade  had  been 
abolished,  and  many  reforms  were  introduced  by  the  new 
rulers.  Sclu>ols  were  founded,  the  administration  of  jus- 
tice was  reorganized  under  new  courts,  the  breed  of  cattle 
and  horses  was  improved,  the  slave-trade  was  forbidden, 
and  missions  to  the  natives  were  largely  developed.  Mean- 
whih'  local  institutions  were  scarcely  altered,  and  the  official 
use  of  the  Dutch  language  was  maintained.  The  Koman- 
Dutch  law,  which  had  been  in  force  under  the  Company's 
rule,  was  permitted  to  remain,  and  it  is  to-day  the  common 
law  of  all  fhe  British  coh)nies  and  territories,  as  well  as  of 
the  Boer  republics,  in  South  Africa.  Intermarriage  began, 
and  the  social  relations  of  the  few  English  who  had  come 
in  {fter  180(5  with  the  many  Dutch  were  friendly.  In 
18-iO  the  British  government  sent  out  about  five  thousand 
emigrants  from  England  and  Scotland,  who  settled  in  the 
thinly  occupied  country  round  Algoa  Bay  on  the  eastern 
border  of  the  Colony ;  and  from  that  time  on  there  w^as  a 
steady,  tlutugh  n*  ver  copious,  influx  of  British  settlers, 
through  whose  presence  the  use  of  the  English  language 
increased,  together  with  a  smaller  influx  of  Germans,  who 
soon  lost  their  national  individuality  and  came  to  si)eak 
either  English  or  the  local  Dutch. 

Before  long,  however,  this  fair  promise  of  peace  and 
union  was  overclouded,  and  the  causes  which  checked  the 
fusion  of  the  races  in  the  Colonv,  and  created  two  Dutch 
republics  beyond  its  limits,  have  had  su(!h  momentous  re- 
sults that  they  need  to  be  clearly  stated. 

The  first  was  to  be  found  in  the  character  of  the  Dutch 


\  \' 


THE  EUROPEAN'S  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA  TILL  1854      ll;{ 


population.  They  were  farmers,  a  few  dwelling  in  villages 
and  (Miltivatiug  the  soil,  l)ut  the  majority  stock-farmers, 
living  scattered  over  a  wide  expanse  of  country,  for  the 
thinness  of  the  pasture  had  made  and  kept  the  stock-farms 
very  large.  They  saw  little  of  one  another,  and  notliing  of 
those  who  dwelt  in  the  few  towns  which  the  Colony  pos- 
sessed. They  were  ignorant,  prejudiced,  strongly  attached 
to  their  old  habits,  im})atieut  of  any  control.  The  oppor- 
tunities for  intercourse  between  them  and  the  British  were 
thus  so  few  that  the  two  races  accpured  very  little  know- 
ledge of  one  another,  and  the  process  of  social  fusion, 
though  easy  at  Cape  Town  and  wlierever  else  the  popula- 
tion was  tolerablv  dense,  was  extremelv  slow  over  the  coun- 
try  at  large.  A  dei)lorable  incident  which  befell  on  the 
eastern  border  in  1815  did  much  to  isreate  bad  ])lood.  A 
slight  rising,  due  to  the  attempted  arrest  of  a  farmer  on  a 
charge  of  maltreating  his  native  servant,  broke  out  there. 
It  was  easily  suppressed,  but  of  tlie  prisoners  taken  six 
were  condemned  to  death  and  five  wei*e  hanged.  This 
harsh  act,  whicli  wa.->  at  the  time  justified  as  a  ])iece  of 
"necessary  firmness," produced  wide-spread  and  bitter  re- 
sentment, and  the  mention  of  Slagter's  Nek  continued  for 
many  years  to  awaken  an  outburst  of  anti-British  feeling 
among  the  Boers. 

A  second  cause  was  the  unwisdom  of  tlie  Britisii  authori- 
ties in  altering  (between  1825  and  1828)  the  old  .system  of 
local  government  (with  the  effect  of  reducing  the  sliare  in 
it  which  the  citizens  had  enjoyed),  and  in  substituting  Eng- 
lish for  Dutch  as  the  language  to  be  used  in  official  docu- 
ments and  legal  proceedings.  This  was  a  serious  hardship, 
for  probably  not  more  than  one  sixth  of  the  people  uiidcr- 
stood  English.  A  third  source  of  trou})le  arose  out  of  the 
wars  with  the  Kafirs  on  the  eastern  border.     8inc'»  the  first 


I 


( 


i    i; 


/ :  ' 


W  1. 


114 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


hostilities  of  1779  tliere  liad  been  four  serious  strnp^gles 
with  the  tribes  wlio  lived  beyoiid  the  Fish  Jiiver,  iiiul  in 
18;i4  a  host  of  savages  suddenly  l)urst  into  the  Colony, 


)tf  the  cattle  and  killini;  tlie  fi 


After 


sweepmjj;  ott  tne  eairie  and  Kiiimg  tne  larniers.  Alter  some 
hard  fifjrhtin<jc  the  Kalirs  were  reduced  to  sue  for  peace,  and 
compelled  by  the  fj;overnor  to  withdraw  beyond  the  Keis- 
kama,  liiver.  But  the  British  {government  at  home,  c.on- 
siderinjjT  that  the  natives  had  been  ill-treated  by  the  colo- 
nists, and  in  fact  provoked  to  war,  overruled  the  {jjovernor, 
and  allowed  tliem  to  return  to  their  old  seats,  where  they 
were,  no  d(>i;))t,  a  source;  of  danger  to  the  border  farmers. 
Thinkins.'  the  lumie  authorities  either  weak  or  j)erverse, 
the  farmers  ))itterly  resented  this  action,  and  began  to  look 
on  the  British  Colonial  Office  as  their  enemv. 

But  the  main  grievance  arose  out  of  those  native  and 
color  questions  which  have  ever  since  continued  to  trouble 
Soiith  Africa.     Slavery  had  existed  in  the  Colonv  since 

4.'  •/ 

1058,  and  had  produced  its  usual  consequences,  tlie  deg- 
radation of  labor,  and  the  notion  that  the  black  man 
has  no  rights  against  the  w^hite.  In  1737  the  first  Mo- 
ravian mission  to  the  Hottentots  was  frowned  u])on, 
au<l  a  pastor  who  had  bai)tized  natives  found  himself 
obliged  to  return  to  Europe.  The  current  of  feeling  in 
Ihirope,  and  especially  in  Enghiiid,  which  condemned  the 
'•  domestic  institution  "  and  sought  to  vindicate  the  human 
rights  of  the  negro,  had  not  been  felt  in  this  remote  corner 
of  the  world,  and  from  about  1810  onward  the  English 
missionaries  gave  intense  offense  to  the  colonists  by  espous- 
ing the  cause  of  the  natives  and  the  slaves,  and  reporting 
every  case  of  cruel  or  harsh  treatment  Avhicli  came  to  their 
knowledge.  It  is  said  that  they  often  exaggerated,  or 
made  charges  on  insufficient  evidence,  and  this  is  likely 
enough.     But  it  must  also  be  remembered  that  they  were 


■  !       1 


v\^ 


THE  EUKOl'EANS  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA  TILL  lhJ4      115 

the  only  protectors  the  blacks  liad ;  and  where  slavery 
exists,  and  a  weak  raee  is  dominated  by  a  strong  one,  there 
are  sure  to  be  many  abuses  of  ])ower.  When,  in  ISL'H, 
Hottentots  and  other  free  colored  people  were  j)laced  by 
governmental  ordinance  on  an  ecpial  footing  with  whites 
ns  regards  i)rivate  civil  rights,  tlie  colonists  were  j)ro- 
foundly  disgusted,  and  their  exasperation  was  increased 
by  the  enactment  of  laws  restraining  their  authority  over 
their  slaves,  as  well  as  by  the  charges  constantly  brouglit 
against  them  by  the  nnssionaries  of  ill-treating  the  natives. 
Finally,  in  1834,  the  British  Parliament  passed  a  statute 
emancipating  the  slaves  throughout  all  the  liritish  colo- 
nies, and  awarding  a  sum  of  twenty  million  jtounds  ster- 
ling as  eomi)ensation  to  the  slave-own<'rs.  The  i)art  of 
this  sum  allotted  to  Cape  Colony  (a  little  more  than  three 
million  pounds  sterling)  was  considerably  below  the  value 
of  the  slaves  (about  39,000)  held  there,  and  as  the  com})en- 
sation  was  made  payable  in  liondon,  most  slave-owners 
sold  their  claims  at  inadequate  prices.  Many  farmers  lost 
the  bulk  of  their  i)roperty,  and  labor  liecame  in  many  dis- 
tricts so  scarce  that  agricidture  vxndd  hardly  })e  carried  on. 
The  irritation  i)i*oduced  by  the  loss  thus  suffered,  intensi- 
fying the  already  existing  discontent,  set  up  a  ferment 
among  the  Dutch  farmers.  Their  s})irit  had  always  l)cen 
independent,  and  the  circumstances  of  their  isolated  life  had 
enabled  them  to  indulge  it.  Even  under  the  government 
of  their  Dutch  kinsfolk  they  had  been  restless,  and  now 
they  received,  as  they  thought,  one  injusti(^e  after  another 
at  the  hands  of  alien  rulers.  To  be  watched  and  denounced 
by  the  missioiuiries,  to  have  black  jx'ople  put  on  a  level 
with  them,  to  lose  the  fruits  of  their  victorv  over  the 
Kafirs— all  these  things  had  been  bad  enough.  Now 
however,  when  their  property  itself  was  taken  away  and 


.  L 


*! 


i 
1 
1 

w ''' 


IIG 


IMPRESSIONS   OF   hOUTII   AFRICA 


slavery  abolisliod  on  j^jroimds  tlioy  could  ntitner  andor- 
stand  nc>r  approve,  they  determined  to  cudure  no  l<)n>^,cx, 
aJid  souy^ht  for  some  means  of  deliverance.  Rebellion 
a<rainst  so  stron«;  a  power  as  tliat  of  Britain  was  evidently 
foredoomed  to  failure,  l^ut  to  the  north  and  east  a  great 
wild  eountry  lay  open  before  them,  where  they  eould  lead 
that  solitarv  and  lialf-noniadic  life  which  thev  loved, 
})r(^serve  their  old  customs,  and  deal  wiih  the  natives?  as 
they  i)Ieased,  unvexed  by  the  meddlesome  English.  Ac- 
cordingly, many  resolved  to  quit  the  Colony  altogether  and 
go  out  into  the  wilderness.  They  were  the  more  disposed  to 
this  course,  because  they  knew  that  the  wars  and  conciuests 
of  Tshaka,  the  ferocious  Zulu  king,  hud  exterminnted  the 
Kafir  population  through  parts  of  the  interior,  'vhicli  there- 
fore stood  open  to  European  settlement.  Thus  it  was  that 
the  Great  Trek,  as  the  Dutch  call  it,— the  great  emigra- 
tion, or  secession,  as  we  should  say,— of  the  Dut'h  Boe  s 
began  in  1836,  twenty-five  years  before  another  q'.ie.sti..n 
of  color  and  slavery  brought  about  a  still  greater  seces- 
sion on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

If  the  reader  will  here  refer  to  the  map,  nnd  measure 
from  Cape  Town  a  distance  of  al)out  four  hundred  imd 
fifty  miles  to  the  east  (to  the  mouth  of  tlie  Gr;^nt  Fish 
River),  and  about  the  same  distance  to  the  nortli-northeast 
(to  where  the  towns  o^'  ii 'delluirg  and  Colesberg  now 
stand),  he  will  obtain  ;*,  pn-fty-  fair  idea  of  the  limits  of 
p]uropean  settlement  in  l.S,36.  The  outer  parts  of  this 
area  toward  the  north  and  east  were  very  thinly  peo])led, 
and  beyond  them  there  was  a  Aast  wilderness,  into  which 
only  a  few  hunters  had  penetrated,  though  some  farmers 
had,  during  the  last  decade  or  two,  been  accustonuHl  to 
drive  their  flocks  and  herds  into  the  fringe  of  it  after  the 
rains,  in  search  of  fresh  pastures.    The  regions  still  farther 


THE  EUliOPEANS  IN  SOUTH  AFHICA  TILL  1854      117 

to  the  north  ai)'^  northeast  wore  al-nost  ciithdy  uiiexph)rcil. 
They  were  full  of  wild  lieasts,  and  oeeupied  here  and  there 
l)y  native  tribes,  some,  Hke  the  various  brauehes  of  the 
Zulu  race,  eminen^^ly  tierce  and  warlike,  Lar«re  tracts, 
however,  were  believed  to  be  empty  and  desolate,  owiii^'- 
to  the  devastatiims  wrought  (hiring  his  twenty  years  of 
reign  })v  Tshaka,  who  Inid  been  murdered  eight  years  be- 
fore. Of  the  existence  of  mineral  wealth  no  one  dreamed. 
But  it  was  believed  that  there  was  good  grazing-laiid  to  l»e 
found  on  the  ui)lands  that  lay  north  of  the  great  Quath- 
lamba  K^inge  (where  now  the  map  shows  the  Orange  Free 
State  and  the  Transvaal  Republic).  More  to  the  south 
lav  the  territory  we  now  cjill  Natal.  It  was  described  by 
those  very  few  persons  who  had  explored  it  as  fertile  and 
well  watered,  a  country  fit  both  for  tillage  and  for  pasture ; 
hilt  wide  plains  and  high  mountains  had  to  be  crossed  to 
reach  it  by  land  from  the  northwest,  r.nd  close  to  it  on 
the  northeast  was  the  main  body  of  the  Zulu  nation,  under 
King  Dingaan,  the  brother  and  successor  of  Tshaka. 

Into  tliis  vast  wildern«'ss  did  the  farmers  set  forth, 
and  though  some  less  laudable  motives  may  have  been 
mingled  with  the  love  of  iude})endence  and  the  I'esentment 
at  injustice  which  mainly  jjrompted  their  emigratiea. 
it  is  impossible  not  to  admire  their  strenuous  and  valiaiu 
spirit.  They  were  a  religious  i)eoi)le,  knowing  no  'nook  '  -  t^ 
the  Bible,  and  they  deemed  themselves,  like  nuuiy  anotner 
religious  people  at  a  like  crisis  of  their  fortunes,  to  be 
under  the  special  protection  of  Heaven.  -  was  Israel  wIhmj 
it  went  out  of  Egypt  into  a  wilderness  ,iot  so  vast  nor  so 
full  of  perils  as  was  that  which  the  Boers  were  entering. 
p]s(!aping  from  a  sway  which  they  compai-ed  to  that  of  the 
Egyptian  king,  they  pro))ably  expected  to  be  stopped  or 
turned  back.     But  Pharaoh,  thougli  he  had  turned  a  deaf 

8» 


:l| 


(I 


:"  .y   (7 


r^^^f^'-^-::  ,v/r- 


118 


LMPliESblONS  OF   SOUTH  AFliICA 


1f 


ear  to  tlieir  coiiiplaints,  was  imhued  witli  tlie  British  spirit 
of  legality.  He  consulted  liis  attorney-general,  and  did 
not  pursue  them.  The  coh)nial  government  saw  with  con- 
cern the  dt^parture  of  so  many  useful  subjects.  But  it  was 
advised  tliat  it  had  no  legal  riglit  to  stop  them,  so  it  stood 
by  silently  wiiile  party  after  party  of  emigrants— each 
householder  with  his  wife  and  his  little  ones,  his  flocks 
and  his  herds  and  all  his  goods— took  its  slow  way  from 
the  eastern  or  northern  parts  of  the  Cidony,  up  the  sh)pes 
of  the  coast  range,  and  a(rross  the  passes  that  lead  into  the 
high  i)lateau  behind.  Within  two  years  from  0000  to 
10,000  persons  set  forth.  They  traveled  in  lai'ge,  cove  vl 
wagons  drawn  by  ten  or  twelve  yoke  of  oxen,  and  they 
were  obliged  to  travel  in  parties  of  no  great  size,  lest  their 
cattle  shoidd  exhaust  the  i)asture  along  the  track  they  fol- 
lowed. There  v/as,  however,  a  general  concert  of  plan 
among  them,  and  most  of  the  smaller  groups  united  at 
spots  previously  fixed  upon  for  a  rendezvous.  All  the 
men  were  armed,  for  the  needs  of  defense  against  the 
Bushmen,  and  the  passion  for  killing  game,  had  made  the 
farmers  expert  in  the  use  of  the  rifle.  As  marksmen  they 
were  unusually  steady  and  skilful,  and  in  the  struggles  that 
followed  nothing  but  their  marksmanship  saved  them. 
Few  now  survive  of  those  who  took  part  in  this  (Ireat  Trek, 
but  among  those  few  is  Paul  Kruger,  now  President  of  the 
South  African  Republic,  who  followed  his  father's  cattle 
as  they  were  driven  forward  across  the  prairie,  being  then 
a  boy  of  ten. 

I  have  not  space  to  tell,  save  in  the  briefest  outline,  the 
striking  and  romr  tic  story  of  the  wanderings  of  the 
e^iiugi  auo  Boers  and  their  conflicts  with  the  native  tribes. 
The  lirst  ]  arty,  like  the  first  host  of  Crusaders  that  started 
for  tli'j  East  in  the  end  of  the  eleventh  century,  perished 


r    ii 


THE  EUUOI'EAXS  IX  SOUTH  AFRICA  TILL  18.14      11!) 


miserably.  It  consisted  of  ninety-ei<;lit  persons  traveling 
with  tliirty  wagons.  "  ey  penetrated  far  to  the  northeast, 
into  what  is  now  tlie  territory  of  the  Transvaal  Kepulilie. 
Some  were  eut  otf  by  the  natives ;  some,  redueed  to  a  mere 
handful  l)y  fever  and  by  the  loss  of  their  eattle,— for  they 
had  ventured  into  the  unhealthylower  country  to  the  soutli- 
eastof  the  mountains,  where  the  tsetse-fly  abounds,— made 
their  way  to  the  coast  at  Delagoa  Bay.  Anotlier  i)arty, 
formed  by  the  union  of  a  number  of  smaller  bodies  at  Thal)a 
'Ntshu,  a  roeky  peak  in  the  Orange  Free  State,  visible  on  the 
eastern  horizon  from  the  present  town  of  Bloemfontein, 
adw'ineed  thence  to  the  north,  and  j)resently  <'anie  in  <Mm- 
tact  with  a  redoubtable  branch  of  the  Zulu  race,  famous  in 
later  historv  under  the  name  of  Matabili.  This  tribe 
was  then  ruled  by  the  chief  Umzilikazi,  or  Mosilikatze, 
a  warrior  of  great  energy  and  talent.  He  had  been  one 
of  Tshaka's  fav<^rite  generals,  but,  having  incurred 
that  king's  displeasure,  had  fled,  about  a.  d.  1817,  with 
his  regiment  to  the  northwest,  and  established  his  head- 
quarters near  a  place  called  Mosega  (between  Pretoria 
and  Mafeking),  in  what  is  now  the  Transvaal  Republic. 
From  here  he  raided  and  massacred  the  Bechuanas  and 
other  tribes  of  this  region,  though  himself  unable  to  with- 
stand the  main  Zulu  nation,  which,  under  Dingaan,  was 
living  farther  to  the  south.  The  Matabili  provoked  war 
by  falling  upon  and  destroying  a  detachment  of  the  emi- 
grants. Intruders  the  latter  doubtless  were,  but,  as  the 
Matabili  themselves  had  slaughtered  without  mercy  the 
weaker  Kafir  tribes,  the  Boers  might  think  they  need  not 
feel  any  compunction  in  dealing  out  the  like  measure  to 
their  antagonists.  And,  in  point  of  fact,  the  emigrants  seem 
all  through  to  have  treated  the  natives  much  as  Israel 
treated  the  natives  of  Canaan,  and  to  have  conceived  them- 


1 


M 
I  \i 


I'JO 


IMI'KESSIUNS   UF   .SUUTII   AFRICA 


^"^1^ 


''  ir 


selves  to  liave  Old  Testament  authority  for  occn])yinjr  the 
territories  of  the  heathen,  and  rt'diiein*;  them  by  tlie  stern- 
est methods  to  serfdom  or  submission.  Here  they  had  an 
unprovoked  nuissaere  to  avenji^e,  and  they  showed  ('(|ual 
promptitude  and  courai^e.  Pouneing  upon  Mosihkatze, 
they  defeated  his  vastiy  superior  force  with  so  great  a 
slau'diter  that  lie  fled  nortliwestward  far  awav  bevoud  the 
Limpopo  Kiver,  and  fell  like  a  thunder-bolt  ui)on  the 
tril)es  who  dwelt  ])etween  that  stream  and  the  Zambesi, 
killing  many  and  making  slaves  of  the  rest.  Here,  with 
the  king's  kraal  of  ]-5ulawayo  for  its  eai)ital,  was  established 
the  kingdom  of  tlie  Matabili,  which  remained  as  a  terror 
to  its  neighbors  till,  in  its  turn,  destroyed  by  Dr.  Jameson 
and  the  British  South  Africa  Company  in  1893.  It  w^as  a 
curious  chain  of  events  that  brought  fire  and  slaughter  so 
suddenly,  in  18;{7,  upon  the  i)eoples  of  the  Zambesi  Valley. 
As  the  conflicts  of  nomad  warriors  along  the  Great  Wall 
of  China  in  the  fourth  century  of  our  era  set  a-going  a 
movement  which,  propagated  from  tribe  to  tribe,  ended 
by  precipitating  the  Goths  upon  the  Roman  empire,  and 
brought  Alaric  to  the  Salarian  Gate  of  Home,  so  the  weak- 
ness of  the  French  monarchy,  inducing  the  Revolution  and 
the  consequent  war  with  England,  carried  the  English  to 
the  Cape,  brought  the  Boers  into  collision  with  the  Mata- 
bili, and  at  last  hurled  the  savage  host  of  Mosilikatze  on 
the  heli)less  Makalakas. 

The  defeat  and  expulsion  of  the  Matabili  left  the  vast  ter- 
ritories between  the  Orange  River  and  the  Limpopo  in  the 
liands  of  the  Boer  immigrants.  Within  these  territories, 
after  much  moving  hither  and  thither,  those  small  and 
rude  communities  began  to  grow  up  which  have  ripened, 
as  we  shall  presently  see,  into  the  two  Dutch  republics 
of  our  own  time.     But,  meanwhile,  a  larger  and  better  or- 


\^ 


n\ 


THE  EL'KOrEANS  IN  SOUTH  AFIUCA  TU.L  1 S54      lUl 


pinized  body  of  Boers,  led  by  a  eapable  and  nnich-respected 
man  named  I'ieter  Hetief,  marehed  first  eastward  and 
then  southward  across  the  (^nathhimba  watershed,  and  dr- 
seended  from  the  jthitcau  into  tlie  richer  and  warmer 
country  between  those  mountains  and  the  Indian  Ocean. 
This  rejjfion  had  been  in  \H'2()  abnost  depopuhitcd  l>y  the 
invasions  of  Tsliaka,  and  now  contained  scarce  anv  nativ«' 


inhabitant^ 


A    few   Enirbshmen    liad    since   IS'24   been 


settled  on  the  inlet  then  caUed  Port  Natal,  where  now  the 
prosperous  town  of  Durban  lies  beneath  the  villas  and 
orchards  of  licrea,  and  (havinj;  obtained  a  cession  of  the 
maritime  strip  from  Kinjj^  T.-haka)  were  nuiintainin^'  there 
a  sort  of  provisional  re})ublie.  In  IHIJo  they  had  asked  to 
be  re<'o<'iiize(l  as  a  colntiv  nndcr  the  name  of  Victoria,  and 
to  have  a  le<i:islature  jjfranted  them.  The  British  jjovern- 
ment,  however,  was  still  hesitatiu«j:  whtither  it  should  oc- 
cupy tue  i)ort,  so  the  emi«'Tants  did  not  trouble  themselves 
about  it.  Thinking  it  well  to  i)ropitiate  the  Zulu  king, 
D'.ngaan,  wh(»se  power  overshadowed  the  counti'y,  the  Boer 


1 


leaders  proceeded  to  his  kraal  to  obtain  from  him  a  forma 
grant  of  luid.  The  grant  was  made,  but  next  day  the  treach- 
erous tyrant,  otfering  them  some  native  Itecr  as  a  .sort  of 
stirrup-cup  before  their  departure,  suddenly  bade  his  men 
fall  upon  and  "kill  the  wizards."  The  excellent  Ketief 
perished  with  his  whole  p'arty,  and  a  l)ody  of  emigrants 
not  far  distant  was  similarly  surprised  and  massacred  l>y 
a  Zulu  army  of  overwhelming  strength.  These  cruelties 
roused  the  rest  of  the  emigrants  to  reprisals,  and  in  a 
fierce  battle,  fought  on  December  16,  18:58,  the  anniver- 
sary of  which  is  still  celebrated  by  the  people  of  the 
Transvaal,  a  liandful  of  Boers  overthrew  Dingaan's 
host.  Like  the  soldiers  of  Cortes  in  Mexico,  they  owed 
this,  as  other  victories,  not  merely  to  their  steady  valor, 


.ill 


.1 


122 


IMPKEHSIONS   OF  SOUTH   AFUICA 


.  I 


I 


I  hfp*^ 


w 


■;/ 


luit  to  thi'ir  horses.  Riding'  up  to  the  lino  of  savjif;**  war- 
j-iors,  tliey  dflivcred  a  volley,  and  rode  back  before  an 
assaj^ai  eould  reach  tlieni,  repeatinj;  this  inana'uver  over 
and  over  jiyain  till  the  hostile  ranks  broke  and  lied.  Ulti- 
mately their  fore»;s,  united  with  those  of  a  brother  of 
Dinji^aan,  who  had  rebelled  aj^'ainst  him  and  had  detached 
a  lar^e  part  of  the  Zulu  warriors,  drove  Dinjjjaau  out  of 
Zululand  in  1S40.  i*anda,  the  r(;bel  brother,  was  in- 
stalled kiniT  in  his  stead,  as  a  sort  of  vassal  to  the  Boer 
jrovernment,  which  they  now  called  the  reimblie  of 
Natalia,  and  the  Boers  founded  a  city,  Pietermaritzburiu'", 
and  be«;an  to  portion  out  the  land.  They  deemed  the 
British  {j^overnment  to  have  abandoned  any  e'.aini  to  the 
(country  by  the  withdrawal  of  a  detachment  of  troops 
which  had  been  landed  at  Port  Natal  in  ISIiS.  But  their 
action,  and  in  particular  their  ejection  from  the  country  of 
a  mass  of  Kafirs  whom  they  proposed  to  place  in  a  district 
already  occui>ied  by  another  tribe,  had  meanwhile  excited 
the  displeasure  of  the  j^overnment  of  Cape  Colony.  That 
•government,  though  it  had  not  followed  them  into  the 
deserts  of  the  interior,  had  never  renounced,  and,  indeed, 
had  now  and  then  reasserted  its  ri{j^ht  to  consider  them 
British  subjects.  They,  however,  repudiated  all  idea  of 
subjection,  holding  British  sovereignty  to  be  purely  terri- 
t(jrial,  so  that  when  they  had  passed  out  of  the  region 
which  the  British  crown  claimed  they  had  become  a  free 
and  independent  people,  standing  alone  in  the  world. 
Their  attempt  to  establish  a  new  white  state  on  the  coast 
became  a  matter  of  serious  concern,  because  it  might 
aflPect  trade  with  the  interior,  and  plant  in  a  region  which 
Britain  deemed  her  own  the  germ  of  what  might  become 
a  new  nuiritime  power.  And  as  the  colonial  government 
considered  itself  the  general  protector  of  the  natives,  and 


THE  EUKOl'KANS  IN  SOL'TIl  AFUICA  TILL  ls54      l'S3 


[iiteri'stt'd  in  niiiiiitairiinir  the  Kulirs  Letw 


(M'll 


Hocr 


Stato  and  {'n\)v  Colony,  the  attacks  of  tin-  Boers  on  tlie 
Kafirs  who  lived  to  the  west  of  them,  toward  the  Colony, 
could  not  be  permitted  to  pass  unchecked.  Tiie  liritish 
government,  though  still  unwilling  to  assume  fresh  re- 
sponsil)ilitit's.  for  m  those  days  it  was  generally  believed 
that  the  colonial  })ossessions  of  Britain  wei-e  already  too 
extensive,  yet  ultimately  concluded,  tor  the  reasons  given 
above,  to  assert  its  authority  over  Port  Natal  and  the 
country  behind  as  far  as  the  crest  of  the  mountains. 
A  small  force  was  accordingly  sent  to  Port  Natal  in  lS4:i. 
It  was  there  besieged  by  tlu;  lioer  levies,  and  would  liave 
been  forced  to  surrender  l)Ut  for  the  daring  ten  (lays'  ride 
through  the  whole  l)readth  of  KatTraria  of  a  young  Eng- 
lishman, Richard  King,  who  brought  the  news  to  Graham's 
Town,  six  hundred  miles  distant.  A  force  sent  )>y  sea 
relieved  the  starving  garrison  after  a  siege  of  twenty  six 
days.  The  Boer  forces  dispersed,  Init  it  was  not  till  a  year 
later  that  the  territory  of  Natal  was  fornudly  declared  a 
British  colony.  Lord  Stanley,  then  colonial  secretary,  was 
reluctant  to  take  over  the  responsil)ilities  of  a  new 
dominion  with  a  disaifected  white  po}»ulation  and  a  mass 
of  savage  inhabitants,  and  only  yielded  +0  the  urgent 
arguments  of  Sir  (xeorge  Najjier,  then  governor  of  the 
Cape.  In  1843,  after  long  and  angry  de])ates,  the  Volks- 
raad,  or  popular  asseml)ly  of  the  tiny  repul)lic,  submitted 
to  the  British  crown,  having  delivered  a  warm  but  inett'ec- 
tual  protest  against  the  principle  of  equal  civil  rights  for 
whites  and  blacks  laid  down  by  the  British  government. 
The  colony  of  Natal  was  then  constituted,  first  (184'))  as 
a  dependency  of  Cape  Colony,  afterward  (18.jfi)  as  a 
separate  colony.  A  part  of  the  Boers,  estimated  at  five 
hundred  families,  remained  in  it,  but  the  nuijority,  includ- 


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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

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124 


LMI'KESSIONS  UF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


I  f 


^'     '>: 


iiig  all  tlij  fiercer  spirits,  recrossed  the  mountains  (some 
forthwith,  some  five  years  later),  with  their  goods  and  their 
cattle,  and  joined  the  mass  of  their  fellow-emigrants  who 
had  remained  on  tlie  plateaus  of  the  interior.  Meanwliile 
an  immense  intlux  of  Kafirs,  mostly  fn)m  Zululand, 
although  many  belonged  to  other  tribes  wlumi  tlie  Zulus 
had  contpiered,  re^jopulated  the  country,  and  in  it  the 
blacks  have  since  been  about  ten  times  as  numerous  as 
the  whites.  Thus  ended  the  Dutch  republic  of  Natalia, 
after  six  years  of  troubled  life.  While  it  was  fighting 
with  the  Zulus  on  the  east,  and  other  Kafirs  on  the  west, 
it  was  torn  by  incessant  intestine  (piarrels,  and  unable 
either  to  levy  taxes,  or  to  compel  for  any  other  i)urpose 
the  obedience  of  its  own  citizens.  But  its  victories  over 
Dingaan's  armies  were  feats  of  arms  as  remarkable  as 
any  South  Africa  has  seen.  The  English  are  not  gener- 
ally slow  to  recognize  the  fine  (pialities  of  their  adversa- 
ries, but  they  have  done  less  than  justice  to  the  resolution 
and  the  daring  which  the  Bo(»rs  displayed  in  these  early 
campaigns  against  the  natives. ' 

With  the  English  annexation  of  Natal  ended  the  first 
of  the  attempts  which  the  emigrant  Boers  have  made  to 
obtain  access  to  the  sea.  It  was  a  turning-point  in  the 
history  of  South  Africa,  for  it  secured  to  Great  Britain  that 
command  of  the  coast  which  has  ever  since  been  seen  to  be 
more  and  more  vital  to  her  predominance,  and  it  estab- 
lished a  new  center  of  English  settlement  in  a  region  till 
then  neglected,  from  whence  large  territories,  including 
Zululand  and,  recently,  Tongaland,  have  been  acquired. 
Although  Britain  purported  to  act,  and,  indeed,  in  one 

1  A  clear  and  spirited  account  of  these  events  may  be  found  in 
Mr.  R.  Russell's  book,  "Natal :  The  Land  and  its  Story,"  published 
in  1894. 


THE  IIUROPEANS  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA  TILL  1854      125 


sense  did  act,  in  self-defense,  one  cannot  repress  a  fe«'liuj;j 
that  tlie  Boer  settlers,  who  had  oeeupied  a  territory  they 
found  vacant  and  had  broken  the  power  of  the  savage 
Zulu  king,  were  hardly  used.  They  ought,  at  any  rate,  to 
have  had  earlier  notice  of  British  intentions.  But  against 
this  may  be  set  the  fact  that  the  internal  dissensions  which 
rent  the  infant  rei)iil)lic  would  have  sooner  or  later  brought 
it  to  the  ground,  compelling  British  intervention,  and  that 
the  native  races  have  fared  better  under  British  control 
than  they  seemed  likely  to  do  under  that  of  the  Boers, 
whose  behavior  toward  them,  though  little  more  harsh 
than  that  of  the  English  colonists,  has  been  much  less 
considerate  than  that  of  the  Imperial  Government. 

Hardly  less  troubled  was  the  lot  of  the  emigi'ants  who 
had  scattered  themselves  over  the  wide  uplands  that  lie 
between  the  Orange  River  and  the  Limj)opo.  They,  too, 
were  engaged  in  incessant  wars  with  the  native  tribes, 
who  were,  however,  less  formidable  than  the  Zulus,  and 
much  cattle-lifting  went  on  upon  })oth  sides.  Only  one 
native  tribe  and  one  native  chief  stand  out  from  the  con- 
fused tangle  of  petty  raids  and  forays  which  nuikes  up 
(after  the  expulsion  of  the  Matabili)  the  earlier  annals  of 
the  Boer  republics.  This  chief  was  the  famous  Moslu?sh, 
to  speak  of  whose  career  I  may  digress  for  a  moment 
from  the  thread  of  this  narrative.  The  Kafir  races 
have  produced  within  this  century  three  really  renuirk- 
able  men— men  who,  like  Toussaint  L'Ouverture  in  Hayti, 
and  Kamehameha  I  in  Hawaii,  will  go  down  in  history 
as  instances  of  the  gifts  that  sometimes  show  them- 
selves even  among  the  most  backward  races.  Tshaka,  the 
Zulu,  was  a  warrior  of  extraordinarv  eneryv  and  ambition, 
whose  power  of  organization  enabled  him  to  raise  the  Zulu 
army  within  a  few  years  to  a  perfection  of  drill  and  dis- 


V  J 


M 


I '' 


I'd 


ll- 


f 

v 


: 


l!» 


120 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


cipline  and  u  swiftness  of  movement  which  made  them 
irresistible,  except  by  Europeans.  Khama,  the  chief  who 
still  reigns  amcnig  the  Beehiianas,  has  been  a  social  re- 
former and  administrator  of  wonderful  judgment,  tact, 
and  firmness,  who  has  kept  his  people  in  domestic  peace 
and  protected  them  from  the  dangerous  influences  which 
white  civilization  usually  brings  with  it,  and  especially 
from  strong  drink,  while  at  the  same  time  helping  them 
skilfully  onward  toward  such  improvements  as  their  char- 
acter admits.  Moshesh,  chief  of  the  Basutos,  was  born  in 
the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century.  He  belonged  to  a 
small  clan  which  had  suffered  severely  in  the  wars  caused 
by  the  conquests  of  Tshaka.  whose  attacks  upon  the  tribes 
nearest  him  had  driven  them  upon  other  tribes,  and 
brought  slaughter  and  confusion  upon  the  whole  of 
southeastern  Africa.  Though  only  a  younger  son,  his 
enterprise  and  courage  soon  made  him  a  leader.  The 
progress  of  his  power  was  aided  by  the  skill  he  showed 
in  selecting  for  his  residence  and  stronghold  a  flat-topped 
hill  Called  Thaba  Bosiyo,  fenced  round  by  cliffs,  with  pas- 
ture for  his  cattle,  and  several  springs  of  water.  In  this 
impregnable  stronghold,  from  which  he  drew  his  title  of 
"  chief  of  the  mountain,"  he  resisted  repeated  sieges  by  his 
native  enemies  and  by  the  emigrant  Boers.  The  exploits 
of  Moshesh  against  his  native  foes  soon  brought  adhe- 
rents round  him,  and  he  became  the  head  of  that  powerful 
tribe,  largely  formed  out  of  the  fragments  of  other  tribes 
scattered  and  shattered  by  war,  which  is  now  called  the 
Basuto.  Unlike  most  Kafir  warriors,  he  was  singularly 
free  from  cruelty,  and  ruled  his  ow^n  people  with  a  mild- 
ness which  made  him  liked  as  well  as  respected.  In  1832 
he  had  the  foresight  to  invite  missionaries  to  come  and 
settle  among  his  people,  and  the  following  year  saw  the 


THE  EUROPEANS  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA  TILL  1854      127 


establislimont  of  the  mission  of  the  Evanfjelical  Society 
of  Paris,  wliose  iii'iiibers,  some  of  them  French,  some 
Swiss,  some  Scotch,  liave  been  tlie  most  i)otent  factors  in 
the  subse(iuent  history  of  the  Basuto  nation.  When  tlie 
inevitable  collision  between  the  Basutos  and  the  white  men 
arrived,  Moshe^h,  partly  thrt)Ui;li  connsels  of  the  mission- 
aries, i)artly  from  his  own  prndence,  did  his  best  to  avoid 
any  fatal  breach  with  the  British  government.  Neverthe- 
less, he  was  several  times  engaged  in  war  with  the  Orange 
Kiver  Boers,  and  once  had  to  withstand  the  attack  of  a 
strong  British  force  led  by  the  governor  of  Cape  Colony- 
But  his  tactful  diplomacy  made  liim  a  match  for  any 
European  opponent,  and  carried  him  through  every  polit- 
ical danger.  Moshesh  died,  full  of  years  and  honor, 
about  twenty-flve  years  ago,  having  built  \i\\  out  of  the 
dispersed  remnants  of  broken  tribes,  a  nation  which  has 
now,  under  the  guiding  hand  of  the  missionaries,  and 
latterly  of  the  British  government  also,  made  greater 
])rogress  in  civilization  and  Christianity  than  any  other 
Kafir  race.  Of  its  present  condition  I  shall  speak  in  a 
later  chapter. 

We  nniy  now  resume  the  story  of  the  fortunes  of  the 
emigrant  Boers  who  had  remained  on  the  landward  or 
northerly  side  of  the  Quathlamba  Range,  or  had  returned 
thither  from  Natal.  In  1843  they  numbered  not  more 
tiian  15,000  persons  all  told,  possibly  less;  for,  though 
after  1838  fresh  emigrants  from  the  Colony  had  joined 
them,  many  had  perished  in  the  native  wars.  Subse- 
quently, down  to  the  end  of  1847,  these  numbers  were  in- 
creased by  others,  who  returned  from  Natal,  disjileased  at 
the  land  settlement  made  there  ;  and  while  these  Natalians 
settled,  some  to  the  southwest,  round  Winburg,  others 
farther  north,  in  the  region  between  Pretoria  and  the  Vaal 


i| 


'4 


'a, 


m 

■t 


m 


l'J8 


IMPliESSlOXS   OF   HOLTH   AFKICA 


/ 


I 


i\ 


f  , 


River,  the  earlier  Boer  oefiiipnnts  of  the  hitter  refrion  moved 
oft"  still  farilier  north,  some  to  Lydenlnirjr,  some  to  the 
Zoutpansber*;  and  the  country  sloj)in|jf  to  the  Limpopo 
Hiver.  Thus  the  emij^rant  Dutch  were  now  scattered  over 
an  area  seven  hundred  miles  lonj^  and  three  hundred  miles 
wide,  an  area  bounded  on  the  southeast  by  the  (^uath- 
lamba  mountain-(rhain,  but  on  the  north  and  west  divided 
by  no  natural  limit  from  the  great  plain  which  stretches 
west  to  th(»  Atlantic  and  north  to  the  Zambesi.  Thev  were 
I)ra('ti<'ally  independent,  for  the  colonial  government 
did  not  attempt  to  interfere  with  their  internal  affairs. 
But  Britain  still  claimed  that  thev  were,  in  strict  intend- 
ment  of  law,  British  subjects,'  and  she  gave  no  recogni- 
tion to  the  governments  they  set  up.  To  have  established 
anv  kind  of  administration  over  so  wide  a  territorv  would 
have  been  in  anv  case  difficult  for  so  small  a  bodv  of 
])eople,  prol)ably  a))out  four  thousand  adult  males  ;  but  the 
very  qualities  which  had  enabled  them  to  carry  out  their 
exodus  from  Cape  Colony  and  their  campaigns  of  conquest 
iigaiust  the  natives  with  so  much  success  made  the  task  of 
organization  still  more  difficult.  They  had  in  an  eminent 
degree  "  the  defects  of  their  qualities."  They  were  self- 
reliant  and  individualistic  to  excess ;  thev  loved  not  onlv 
independence,  but  isolation ;  they  were  resolved  to  make 
their  government  absolutely  popular,  and  little  disposed  to 
brook  the  control  even  of  the  authorities  thev  had  them- 
selves  created.  They  had,  in  fact,  a  genius  for  disobe- 
dience ;  their  ideal,  if  one  can  attribute  any  ideals  to  them, 

1  Sir  P.  Maitliind's  proelajiiation  of  August  21,  1845,  expressly 
reserved  the  rights  of  tlie  crown  to  consider  those  who  had  gone 
beyond  Natal  as  being  still  its  subjects,  notwithstanding  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  settled  government  in  that  Colony.  (See  Bird's 
''Annals  of  Natal,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  468.) 


THE  EUKOI'EANS  IX  SOUTH  AFUK'A  TILL  l.sr)4      l'Ji> 


was  tliJit  of  Isrtu'l  in  tlie  days  wlitMi  every  man  did  that 
Avliicli  was  rij'lit  in  his  own  eyes.  It  was  only  t'oi*  warlike 
('Xj>editions,  ^vhi('h  tliey  liad  eonie  to  enj(»y  not  only  for 
the  sake  of  the  excitement,  but  also  because  they  were 
able  to  enrich  themsehes  l»y  the  capture  of  cattle,  that 
they  could  be  brouj^fht  together,  and  only  to  their  leaders 
in  war  that  they  would  yield  obedience.  Very  few  had 
taken  to  agri(!ulture,  for  wliich,  indeed,  the  dry  soil  was 
.seldom  fitted,  and  the  half-nonuidic  life  of  stock-farmers, 
each  pasturing  his  cattle  oyer  great  tracts  of  <*ountry, 
conlirmed  their  dissociative  instincts.  However,  the 
necessities  of  defense  against  the  natives,  and  a  common 
spirit  of  hostility  to  the  claims  of  sovereignty  which  the 
Britisli  government  had  never  renounced,  kej)t  them 
loosely  together.  Thus  several  small  republican  communi- 
ties grew  up.  Each  would  have  preferred  to  numage  its 
affairs  by  a  general  meeting  of  the  citizens,  aiul  some- 
times tried  to  do  so.  But  as  the  citizens  dispersed  them- 
selves over  the  country,  this  ])ecame  im})ossil)le,  so  author- 
ity, such  slight  authority  as  they  could  be  induced  to 
grant,  was  vested  in  a  small  elective  assendjly  called  the 
Yolksraad  or  Ccmncil  of  the  People,  These  tiny  repultlics 
^vere  held  together  by  a  sort  of  faintly  federative  tie,  which 
rested  rather  in  a  common  understanding  than  ui)on  any 
legal  instrument,  and  whose  observance  was  always  sul)- 
ject  to  the  passion  of  the  moment.  In  the  northeast,  be- 
yond the  Vaal  River,  these  republican  communities,  while 
distracted  by  internal  feuds  chietiy  arising  from  i)ersonal 
or  family  enmities,  were  left  undisturbed  by  the  colonial 
government.  They  lived  hundreds  of  miles  from  the  near- 
est Britisli  outi)Ost,  and  their  wars  with  the  Kafirs  scarcely 
affected  those  tribes  with  whom  the  British  authorities 
came  in  contact.     Those  authorities,  as  I  have  already 


I 


■.:.   i 


% 


iif 


- 'i! : 


130 


IMI'UESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


observed,  were  in  those  days,  under  orders  roecived  from 
lionic,  anxious  ratlier  to  contract  tlum  to  extend  tlie 
sphere  of  inii)erial  influence,  and  cared  little  for  what 
luij)i»ened  far  out  in  the  wilderness,  excejjt  in  so  far  as  the 
l)resence  of  the  Hoers  induced  troubles  anion;i(  the  natives. 
It  was  otherwise  with  the  cniij^rants  who  lived  to  the 
southwest,  between  the  \an\  Kiver  and  the  frontier  of 
Caj)e  Colony,  which  was  then  at  tht;  village  of  ColesiM'rg, 
l)etween  what  is  now  De  Aar  Junction  and  the  ui)i>er  course 
of  the  Orange  River.  Ilei'e  tliere  were  endless  bickerings 
l>etween  the  Boers,  the  rapidly  growing  native  trilie  of  the 
liasutos,  and  tin;  halfd)reeds  called  Gricpias,  hunting-tribes 
sprung  from  Dutcli  fathers  and  Hottentot  women,  who, 
intermixed  with  white  people,  and  to  some  extent  civilized 
by  the  missioiuiries,  were  scattered  over  the  country  from 
where  the  town  of  Kind^erley  now  stands  southward  to  the 
junction  of  the  Orange  and  C^aledon  rivers.  These  quar- 
rels, with  the  perpetual  risk  r^  ?rlous  luitive  war  arising 
from  them,  distressed  a  suet  ii  of  governors  at  Cape 
Town  and  a  succession  of  colonial  secretaries  in  Downing 
street.  Britain  did  not  wish  (if  I  may  use  a  commercial 
term  not  unsuited  to  her  state  of  mind)  '^  to  increase  her 
holding"  in  South  Africa.  She  regarded  the  Cajjc  as  the 
least  j)rosperous  and  promising  of  her  coh)nies,  with  an 
arid  soil,  a  population  largely  alien,  and  an  apparently  end- 
less series  of  costly  Kafir  w^ars.  She  desired  to  avoid  all 
further  annexations  of  territorv,  because  etich  annexation 
brought  fresh  responsibilities,  and  fresh  responsibilities  in- 
volved increased  expenditure.  At  last  a  plan  was  proposed 
by  Dr.  Philip,  a  prominent  missionary  who  had  acquired 
influence  with  the  government.  The  missionaries  were 
the  only  responsible  persons  who  knew  much  about  the 
wild  interior,  and  they  were  often  called  on  to  discharge 


i/i)  1/  I 


■> 


THE  EUKOI'KANS  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA  TILL  lSo4      131 


fill  L'tioiis  siiiiilar  to  tln»so  wliicli  tlic  l>islioi»s  iMTforincd 
t'oi'  tho  barltai-iiin  kin^s  in  wcstrrn  Kur(>|M'  in  the  lU'tli 
and  sixth  ccnturit's  of  our  era.  Tlic  societies  uhicli  tliry 
ivjtrcsentcd  coniinaiMlc*!  some  influence  in  Parlianicnt ; 
and  this  fact  also  disposed  the  Colonial  Otlice  to  consult 
tlieni.  J)r.  IMiilip  su<iu,'ested  the  creation  alonj;  the  north- 
eastern border  of  native  states  whit-h  should  sever  the 
Colony  from  the  unsettled  districts,  and  slM)uld  isolate  tlu^ 
more  turbulent  en»i<j:rant  lioers  from  those  who  had  re- 
mained (luietly  in  the  Colony.  This  plan  was  adopted. 
Treaties  were  made  in  184JJ  with  Moshesh,  the  liasuto 
chief,  and  with  Adam  Kok,  a  Gricjua  captain  livin<i:  <>n  tlu; 
Orange  Kiver,  as  a  treaty  had  been  made  nine  years 
before  witli  another  (iri([na  leader  named  Waterboer, 
wlio  lived  farther  north  (near  the  present  site  of  Kim- 
berley) ;  and  these  three  states,  all  reco<>iiized  by  Britain, 
were  intended  to  cover  the  Colony  on  tlie  side  where 
troubles  were  most  feared.  But  the  arranj^enu-nt  soon 
broke  down,  for  the  whites  would  not  reco<;nize  a  Griqiia 
captain,  while  the  old  troubles  ])etween  tliem  and  the 
natives  continued.  Accordin<j:ly,  a  forward  step  was 
taken  in  184G  by  placing  a  few  British  troops  under  a 
niilitarv  resident  at  Bloemfontein,  half-wav  between  the 
Oranj^^e  and  Vaal  rivers,  to  keep  order  there.  Aiul  in 
184(S  the  wlioh;  country  from  the  Orange  to  the  Vaal  was 
fornuilly  annexed  under  the  uame  of  the  Orange  Kiver 
Sovereignty.  The  country  had  been  without  any  govern- 
ment, for  the  emigrants  who  dwelt  in  it  had  mo  (u-ganiza- 
tion  of  their  own,  and  did  not  recognize  the  republics 
beyond  the  Vaal. 

This  formal  assertion  of  British  authority  provoked  an 
outbreak  among  those  of  the  emigrants,  mostly  Dutch, 
who   elung   to   their   indei)endence.      Roused   and   rein- 


i\ 


It 


,!■ 


l:i2 


IMI'HESSIONW   OF   SULTII   Ai'UICA 


i  1 


If' 


I  I 


.  / 


forced  l»v  tlit'ir  lioer  brethren  from  bevoiid  the  Vaal,  who 
were  coniinuiKh'd  l»v  Aiidries  Pretorius,  tlie  most  ciicrm'tie 
Hiid  ('apul>hi  of  the  emi^'raiit  leadei's,  jiiid  the  siimt'  wl  '  had 
hesicncd  the  liritish  troops  at  l*ort  Natal,  tlicy  attacked 
Hh)end'oiitein,  ohli^<!d  th(^  Resident's  small  force  to  capitn- 
late,  and  advanced  sonth  to  the  Oran^'c  Wiver.  Sir  liarrv 
Smith,  then  j^ovei-nor  of  the  Cape,  pi'omptly  moved  for- 
ward a  small  force,  defeated  the  Jioers  in  a  sharp  skirmish 
at  Hoomplats  (Au^nist  2!),  lS48),and  reestablished  lirilish 
autliority  over  the  Soverei«;nty,  which  was  not,  Imjwcvci-, 
incor])()rated  with  Cape  Colony.  The  Boers  beyond  the 
Vaal  were  h'ft  to  thems»'lves. 

JVacc,  liowevei',  was  not  yet  assured.  Fresh  ((uari-els 
broke  out  anuMij^  tlie  native  tril)es,  endinjj;  in  a  war  })etween 
the  l^asutos  and  the  Jiritish  He.sident.  Unsupported  l)y  a 
larfj^e  section  of  the  lo«*al  farmers,  who  remained  dis- 
affected to  tlu^  f>:overnment,  and  preferred  to  make  their 
own  terms  with  the  Hasutos,  and  liavin^  only  a  tritlinj;" 
armed  force  at  liis  command,  the  Resiih'ut  fared  ill ;  and 
his  position  became  worse  when  Pretorius,  still  powerful 
bevond  the  Vaal,  threatened  to  move  in  and  side  with  the 
l^asutos.  Cape  Colony  was  at  that  moment  involved  in  a 
serious  war  with  the  Kafirs  of  the  south  coast,  and  could 
spare  no  troops  for  these  northern  troubles.  So  wlicn 
Pretorius  intimated  that  he  and  the  northern  Boers  wished 
to  make  some  permanent  pacific  arrangement  with  Britain, 
which,  tlKmjjh  it  did  not  claim  their  territory,  still  clainu'd 
their  alleg^iance,  comnnssioners  were  sent  to  negotiate  with 
him  and  the  northern  or  Transvjial  grouij  of  emigrants, 
and  in  1852  a  convention  was  concluded  at  Sand  River 
with  "  the  commandant  and  delegates  of  the  Boers  living 
beyond  the  Vaal,"  by  which  the  British  government 
"  guaranteed  to  the  emigrant  farmers  beyond  the  Vaal 
River  the  right  to  nuinage  their  own  affairs,  and  to  govern 


V; 


THK  Kl'-oI-KANS  IN  SOlTII  Al'UKA  TIM,  1S.-.4       IX.i 


tlu'iiisclvcs  iU'cordiii^  to  tlieir  own  laws,  without  nny  iii- 
terlVrciKM'  oil  tin-  |iait  of  tin*  British  jrovci'iminit,"  with 
provisions  "(lischiiniin^'  all  alliances  with  any  of  the  rol- 
orcd  nations  north  of  the  \'aal  h'ivcr,"  jx-nniltin^r  the 
eini^'rants  to  purchase  ammunition  in  the  British  eolonics. 
and  (leelarinir  that  "  \nt  slavery  is  oi*  shall  he  permitted  ov 
pru«*tised  Itythe  farmers  in  th«'  <*ountry  north  of  th«'  \'aal 
Kiver." 

From  this  Sand  K'ivei"  convention  the  South  African 
^•epul^li(^  afterward  slowly  fonned  out  of  the  snuill  com- 
munities whicli  then  divi(h'd  the  country,  dates  its  imle- 
})endence,  and  hy  the  same  instrument  it  practically 
severed  itself  tVom  tin'  Boer  emigrants  who  were  'eft  in 
tlje  Oraujr*'  Jiiver  Soverein:nty  south  of  tlie  Vaal,  comhict 
which  the  repuldican  party  amonj;  these  emi^n'ants 
deemed  a  lietrayal.  Tluf^^  Sovereifjfuty  renudned  British, 
and  }>robal»ly  would  have  so  <'ontinued  hut  for  an  unex- 
pected incident.  It  was  still  vexed  by  the  war  with  the 
Basutos.  ami  when  (ieneral  Cathcart,  who  had  now  eonu' 
out  as  p)vernor  of  the  Cape,  attacked  the  Basutos  with 
a  eonsiderabh?  force  of  British  repdars,  he  was  drawn 
into  a  sort  of  ambush  in  theii-  difficult  country,  suffered 
a  serious  reverse,  and  would  have  l)een  coin])elled  to  in- 
vade Basutoland  afresli  with  a  larpfcr  army  had  not  Mo- 


V 


eace 


shesh,  the  Basuto  cliief,  ])rudently  asked  for  peaee 
was  concluded. 

But  the  Britisli  ^ovei-nment  was  weary  of  these  petty 
and  apparently  unending  native  wars,  and  soon  after  the 
news  of  the  ])attle  with  Moshesh  reached  London,  the  Duke 
of  Newcastle,  and  Lord  Aberdeen's  government,  in  which 
he  was  colonial  secretary,  resolved  to  abandon  the  Sover- 
eignty altogether.  To  those  who  look  back  on  185."}  with 
the  eyes  of  1897  this  seems  a  strange  determination,  for 
the  British  crown  had  i'ule<l  the  country  for  eight  years 

9 


iKvil 


.4 


134 


IMI'UKSSIONS   OF   SOUTH    AKUIC'A 


}  I 


himI  recently  ^'iveii  it  u  ref^iiltir  new  eonstitution.  More- 
over, wliereus  the  t'uniiers  Iteyoiid  tlie  \'aal  were  neurlv  all 
of  pure  lioer  stock,  those  in  tlieOnm^*'  Kiver  Sovei'ci^nty 
were  mixed  with  l']ii<^lish  setth-rs,  ami  from  tlieir  proximity 
to  the  Cohtnv  were  mucli  less  jiverse  to  the  Hritish  citnuec- 
tion.  Ill  fact,  a  lar^'e  part  of  them  — thouj;h  it  is  not  now 
easy  to  <liscovei' the  exact  projjort ion —  warmly  resisted  the 
proposal  of  the  liritish  ^'overnment  to  retire,  and  inde- 
pendence had  to  he  forced  on  them  a^^'ainst  their  will. 
In  Cape  Colony  too,  and  amon^  the  missionaries,  thei-e 
was  a  stronj;  repuj,nnince  to  the  ))olicv  (►f  withdrawal. 
The  authorities  of  the  Colony  and  the  Colonial  Otlico  at  home 
were,  however,  inexorable.  They  saw  no  use  mi  keepinj^ 
territories  wliicli  were  (mostly  })eeause  they  had  to  he  de- 
fended aj.?ainst  native  raids,  and  from  which  little  benefit 
was  then  expected.  Hardly  any  notice  had  been  taken  in 
Britain  of  the  Sand  Kiver  convention,  which  the  Conser- 
vative ministry  of  that  day  had  approved,  and  when,  at  tlie 
instance  of  delej^ates  sent  home  by  those  who,  in  the 
Oi'anjije  Kiver  territory,  desired  to  remain  s'lbjeet  to  the 
British  crown,  a  motion  was  made  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons asking  the  Queen  to  reconsider  the  renunciation  of 
her  sovereignty  over  that  territoiy,  tlie  motion  found  no 
support  and  had  to  be  withdrawn.  Parliament,  indeed, 
wont  so  far  as  to  vote  f<n'ty-eijjht  thousand  pounds  ])y 
way  of  compensation,  in  order  to  jjet  rid  of  this  larjye 
territory  and  a  {xreat  num])er  of  attached  subje(?ts.  So 
little  did  Englishmen  then  care  for  that  South  African 
dominion  wliich  they  have  sul)sequently  bc(!ome  so  eager 
to  develop  aiul  extend. 

By  the  convention  signed  at  Bloemfontein  on  February 
23,  1854,  the  British  govennnent  ''guaranteed  the  future 
independence  of  the  country  and  its  government,"  and 


TIIK  KrU(U'KA\S  IN  SOl'TII  AI'IilCA  TILL  lM.-»4       l;ir, 


tlijit  tlit'V  should  Itc  ••  (It'clai'iMl,  to  nil  iiittMifs  juul  purposes, 
H  fi'»'«'  iind  iudt'prMilfUt  people."  Ni»  .sJaNciy  or  Inide  in 
slaves  was  to  In-  permitted  north  of  the  Oranp'  Kiver. 
The  Oi'an^'e  Wi\er  jrovcrnnieiil  was  to  he  tVee  to  purchase 
uniinunition  in  the  jiritish  eulonies,  and  liheral  j)rivile;res 
in  eoniiection  with  iinpoi't  duties  wei*e  to  he  ^I'unted  t(»  it. 
Tlu'se  two  conventions  of  IS.')!'  and  lsr)4  are  epochs  «>f 
supreme  imi)ortance  in  South  African  history,  for  they 
nuirk  the  lirst  estahlishment  of  non-liritish  independent 
states,  whose  relations  with  the  British  cohunes  were  tliere- 
ufter  to  constitute  the  central  thread  in  the  annals  of  the 
(rountry.  As  that  of  IS.VJ  reeon;nized  the  Transvaal  state, 
so  from  that  of  1S,'>4,  which  is  a  more  exjdicit  and  com- 
plete declai'ation  of  indep«'ndence  than  had  heen  accorded 
to  the  Ti'ansvaal  peoph-  two  years  hefore,  dates  the  hen;in- 
nin«;  of  the  second  lioer  rejniblic,  the  Oranjr*'  Vvvo  State, 
which,  increased  hy  tin;  eoiKjuest  from  the  liiisutos  of  a 
sti'ip  of  fertile  t«M'ritorv  in  the  south,  has  ever  since  r"- 
nuiined  j)erfectly  independent  and  at  jieaee  with  the  British 
<'oh)nies.  Its  oidv  serious  troubles  have  arisen  from  native 
wars,  and  these  have  lonjj:  ajjo  come  to  an  end.  In  lsr»4 
an  assembly  of  deleji^ates  emieted  for  it  the  republican 
eonstitution  under  which  it  has  ever  sii.ee  been  quietly 
atid  peaceably  jjfoverned.  It  had  the  jjood  foi'tnne  to 
elect  as  its  president,  in  ISfi.'),  n  lawyer  from  Cape  Colony, 
of  Dutch  extraction,  INIr.  (afterward  Sir)  John  Brand, 
who  guided  its  course  with  great  tact  and  wisdom  tor 
twenty-four  yeai's,  and  whose  favorite  expression,  "  All 
will  come  right,"  now  insci'ibed  on  his  tond>stone  at  Bloem- 
fontein,has  become  throughout  South  Africa  a  j)rover}»i!d 
phrase  of  encouragement  in  moments  of  difficulty.' 

1  Souk;  furtlier  account  of  tlie  Orange  Free  State  will  be  found  in 
a  later  chapter. 


m 


i 


i'i 


4 


136 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


I 


h 


Beyond  the  Vual  River  things  luive  gone  very  differ- 
ently. The  farmers  of  tliat  region  were  more  seattered, 
more  rnde  and  nnedueated,  and  more  prone  to  factious  dis- 
sensions than  those  of  tlie  Free  State  proved  to  he  after 
1854 ;  and  whih^  the  latter  were  eompressed  within  definite 
boundaries  on  tln*ee  sides,  the  Transvaal  Boers  were  scat- 
tered over  a  practically  limitless  area.  During  the  next 
twenty-five  years  the  Transvaal  people  had  very  little  to 
do  with  the  British  government.  But  they  were  distracted 
hy  inteinirl  feuds,  and  involved  in  almost  incessant  strife 
with  the  natives.  These  two  sources  of  trouble  brought 
their  government,  in  1877,  to  a  condition  of  virtual  col- 
lapse. But  that  collapse  and  the  annexation  which  fol- 
lowed it  belong  to  a  later  pliase  of  South  Africa,  and  we 
must  now  turn  from  them  to  trace  the  j)rogress  of  events 
in  other  parts  of  the  country  between  1852  and  1877. 


CHAPTER  XII 


THE  EUROPEANS   IN   SOUTH   AFRICA,   1854-95 


BETWEEN  the  years  18r)2  and  1856  tlie  liistory  of 
Aiiglo-Dutc'li  South  Africa  breaks  up  into  four  dis- 
tinct streams.  The  Transvaal  or  South  African  Kcpuhlii; 
pursues  its  own  course  from  18r)2  onward,  the  Oran»;:e  Fi'ce 
State  from  18.34,  and  Natal  from  KS.IO,  in  wliich  year  it  wns 
separated  from  the  Capc^  and  constituted  as  a  distinct  col- 
ony. Between  1870  and  1880  the  South  African  Kepubli*; 
and  Natal  are  again  brought  into  ch>se  relations  with  the 
marcli  of  events  in  Cape  Colony.  But  before  we  trace 
these  three  streams  in  their  several  courses  it  is  well  to 
return  to  the  Cape,  by  far  the  largest  and  most  populous 
of  the  four  communities,  and  sketcli  in  outline  the  chief 
events  that  mark  the  development  of  that  colony  down 
to  the  memorable  epoch  of  1877-81. 

These  events  gnmp  themselves  into  three  divisions— the 
material  progress  of  Cape  Colony,  the  changes  in  the  form 
of  its  government,  and  those  wars  with  the  Kafir  triltes 
which,  while  they  retarded  its  growth  in  population, 
steadily  increased  its  area. 

The  departure  of  some  eight  or  ten  thousand  Boers,  tlie 
most  discontented  part  of  the  population,  in  the  years  fol- 
lowing 1835,  not  only  removed  an  element  which,  ex(!el- 

137 


!  i 


i 


I 


li 


• 


138 


IMPRESSIONS   OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


h    I 


I  1 


lent  in  other  respects,  was  i)olitieally  at  once  nnrestfnl  and 
old-fashioned,  hut  left  plenty  of  vacant  space  to  he  occu- 
})ied  hy  new  immigrants  from  Euroi)e.     New  immigrants, 
however,  came  slowly,  hecause  at  that  time  the  tide  of 
British  emigration  set  mainly  to  America,  while  German 
emigration  had  hardly  begun.    The  Kafir  wars  had,  more- 
over, given  South  Africa  a  bad  name,  and  the  settlers  of 
1820  (see  above,  p.  121)  had  suffered  several  years  of  hard- 
sliij)  Ijefore  prosperity  came  to  them.     However,  between 
184')  and  1850  four  or  five  thousand  British  immigrants 
were  brought  in,  with  the  aid  of  the  government,  and  a 
little  latei-  a  number  of  Germans  who  had  served  Eng- 
land  in  the  German  Legion  during  the  Crimean  War. 
Again,  in  1858,  more  than  two  thousand  German  peasants 
were  settled  on  the  south  coast  in  lands  which  had  been 
j)reviously  held  by  Kafirs.     These  people  made  good  col- 
onists, and  have  now  become  merged  in  the  British  pop- 
ulation, which  had  come  to  predominate  in  the  eastern 
province  as  the  Dutch  still  does  in  the  western.     As  the 
country  filled  there  was  a  steady,  though  slow,  progress 
in  farming  and  in  export  trade.     The  merino  sheep  had 
been  introduced  in  1812  and  1820,  and  its  wool  had  now 
become  a  source  of  wealth ;  so,  too,  had  ostrich  farming, 
which  began  about  1865  and  developed  rapidly  after  the 
introduction  of  artificial  incubation  in  1809.    The  finances, 
which  had  been  in  disorder,  were  set  right,  roads  began 
to  be  made,  churches  and  schools  were  established,  and 
though  the  Kafir  raids  caused  much  loss  of  life  and  of 
cattle  on  the   eastern  border,  the  cost   of   these  native 
wars,  being  chiefly  borne  by  the  home  government,  did  not 
burden  the  colonial  revenue.      In  1859  the  first  railway 
was  constructed,  and  bv  1883  more  than  one  thousand 
miles  of  railway  were  open  for  traffic.     There  were,  how- 


THE   EUROPEANS   IN   SOUTH  AFRICA,   1854-95 


139 


ever,  no  industries  exce])!  stock-keepinj?  and  tillage  until 
18G9,  when  the  discovery  of  diamonds  (of  whieh  more 
anon)  brought  a  sudden  rush  of  immigrants  from  Euro}H% 
stimulated  trade  so  powerfully  that  the  revenue  of  the 
Colony  doubled  within  live  years,  and  began  that  surpris- 
ing development  of  mineral  resources  whieh  has  been  the 
most  striking  feature  of  recent  years. 

With  the  growth  of  population,  which  had  risen  under 
British  rule  from  about  20,000  Europeans  in  1805  to 
182,000  in  18G5  and  237,000  in  1875,  there  came  also 
changes  in  the  form  of  government.  At  first  the  gover- 
nor was  an  autocrat,  except  so  far  as  he  was  controlled  ])y 
the  fear  that  the  colonists  might  appeal  to  the  Colonial 
Office  in  London  against  him  :  and  the  administration  was 
therefore  wise  or  foolish,  liberal  or  severe,  according  to 
the  qualities  of  the  individual  governor.  Some  serious 
mistakes  were  committed,  and  one  governor,  Lord  Charles 
Somerset,  has  left  the  reputation  of  arbitrary  rule ;  Ijut 
the  officials  sent  out  seem,  on  the  whole,  to  have  pursued 
a  more  judicious  policy  and  shown  more  respect  to  local 
opinion  than  the  representatives  of  the  Dutch  East  India 
Company  had  (with  one  or  two  brilliant  exceptions)  done 
in  the  previous  century.  The  blunders  which  preceded 
the  Great  Trek  of  183C  were  attributable  rather  to  the 
home  government  than  to  its  agents  on  the  spot,  and  in 
the  years  that  followed  colonial  feeling  complained  more 
often  of  Downing  street  than  it  did  of  Government  Plouse 
at  Cape  Town.  The  irritation  which  from  time  to  time 
broke  out  sprang  chiefly  from  questions  connected  with 
the  natives.  Like  all  Europeans  dwelling  among  inferior 
races,  the  mass  of  the  colonists,  English  as  well  as  Dutch, 
looked  upon  the  natives  as  existing  for  their  l)enefit,  and 
resented  the  efforts  which  the  home  a-overnment  made  to 


M 


hi 


ill 


( 


i< 


'  I 


Il  ' 


140 


IMPRESSIONS   OF   SOUTH   AFIJICA 


secure  for  the  blacks  equal  civil  rights  and  adequate  ])ro- 
tecttioii.  Their  wrath  was  especially  kindled  by  the  velie- 
iiience  with  which  a  few  among  the  missionaries  de- 
nounced any  wrongs  deenunl  to  have  been  suifered  by  the 
natives  within  the  Colony,  and  argued  the  case  of  the  Kafir 
tribes  who  were  from  time  to  time  in  revolt.  I  do  not 
attempt  to  apportion  the  blame  in  these  disputes;  but  any 
one  who  has  watc^hed  the  relations  of  superior  and  inferior 
ra(H's  in  America  or  India  or  the  Pacific  islands  will  think 
it  probable  that  many  harsh  and  unjust  things  were  done 
bv  the  colonists,  as  everv  one  who  knows  how  zeal  misleads 

ft  '  « 

the  judgment  of  well-intentioned  men  will  think  it  no  less 
probable  that  there  was  some  exaggeration  on  the  part 
of  the  phihiiithropic  friends  of  the  blacks  and  that  some 
groundless  charges  were  l)rought  against  the  colonists. 
The  missionaries,  especi.illy  those  of  the  London  Society, 
had  a  certain  influen<'e  with  the  Colonial  Office,  and  were 
supposed  to  have  much  more  than  they  had.  Thus 
from  1S20  to  about  ISGO  there  was  a  perpetual  struggle 
between  the  colonists  and  the  missionaries,  in  which 
struggle  the  Governor  tended  to  side  with  the  colonists, 
whose  public  opinion  he  felt  round  him,  while  the  Colonial 
Office  leaned  to  the  philanthropists,  who  could  bring  po- 
litical pressure  to  bear  through  the  House  of  Commons. 
Unfortunate  as  these  bickerings  were,  they  had  at  least 
the  result  of  tending  to  unite  the  Dutch  and  English  ele- 
ments in  the  population,  for  on  native  questions  there  was 
little  diflference  of  attitude  between  tliose  elements. 

In  1834  a  Legislative  Council  was  created,  consisting, 
however,  of  officials  and  of  members  nominated  bv  the 
governor,  and  not,  as  the  colonists  had  petitioned,  chosen 
by  election.  Twenty  years  later,  when  the  population 
had  greatly  increased  and  the  demand  for  representative 


fi:^ 


THE   EUROPEANS   IX   SOUTH   AUK'ICA,   1854-9.-)        141 


institutions  could  no  lonj?er  be  resisted,  a  i'ef]fular  two- 
eli}unl)er(Hl  k'jjfislature  was  set  up,  consistiu*;  of  a  Legisla- 
tive (\)uneil  and  a  House  of  Assembly,  both  elected  on  a 
wide  franchise,  with  no  distinction  of  race  or  color,  thoujj^h 
of  course  the  colored  voters  were  comparatively  few,  be- 
cause the  tribal  Kafirs  living  under  their  chiefs  were 
excluded,  while  of  other  blacks  there  was  onlv  a  small 
proportion  who  held  property  even  to  the  limiti'd  extent 
required  for  the  suffrage.  This  legislature  met  foi"  the 
first  time  in  l^'A.  P\)ur  years  previously  an  event  had 
occurred  which  showed  how  desirable  it  was  that  consti- 
tutional means  should  be  provided  for  the  exi>ression  of 
the  people's  wishes.  The  lumie  government  had  sent  out 
a  vessel  carrying  a  number  of  convicts  to  be  landed  and 
kept  in  the  Colony,  W'here  no  convicts  had  been  seen  since 
the  days  of  the  Dutch  Company.  A  strong  and  unanimous 
feeling  arose  at  oncie  against  this  scheme,  which  was  re- 
garded as  likely  to  prove  aveu  more  harmful  in  South 
Africa  than  it  had  proved  in  Australia,  be(^aus(i  there  was 
at  the  Cape  a  large  native  population,  among  whom  the 
escaped  or  released  convict,  possessing  the  knowledge  and 
capacity  of  a  white  man,  but  unrestrained  by  any  resi)onsi- 
bility  or  sense  of  a  character  to  lose,  would  be  able  to  work 
untold  mischief.  The  inhabitants  of  Cape  Town  and  its 
neighborhood  held  meetings  of  protest,  sent  r«^monstrances 
to  England,  and  mutually  i)ledged  themselves  to  supply 
no  food  to  the  convict  ship.  This  pledge  they  carried  out, 
and  during  the  five  month:^  that  the  convict  ship  lay  in 
Simon's  Bay,  it  was  from  the  naval  squadron  there  that 
she  had  to  receive  provisions.  The  Colonial  Office  at  last 
yielded,  and  the  people,  while  rejoiced  at  the  success  they 
had  achieved,  and  at  the  lieartiness  with  which  Dutch  and 
English  had  cooperated  for  a  common  object,  were  more 


1:1 


!. 


li 


142 


IMPRESSIONS   OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


M 


'1 


tlian  ever  disposed  to  desire  some  control  over  tlieir  own 
aft'iiirs. 

Although  after  1854  tlie  sole  power  of  legislation  was 
vested  in  the  colonial  Parliament,  subject  to  the  right  of 
the  liritish  crown  to  disallow  an  act,— a  right  which  is  of 
(•oursc  very  rarely  used,— the  executive  power  still  re- 
mained with  the  governor  and  his  council,  who  were  aj)- 
j»ointed  by  the  home  government,  and  not  responsible  to 
the  Cape  legislature.  It  has,  however,  become  a  settled 
principle  of  British  colonial  policy  to  grant  to  each  and 
every  colony  not  only  legislative  power,  but  responsible 
executive  government  so  soon  as  the  white  i)opulation  of 
the  colony  has  become  relatively  large  enough  and  settled 
enough  to  enable  that  kind  of  constitution  to  be  properly 
worked.  In  1872  the  whites  of  Cape  Colony  had  come  to 
exceed  200,000,  and  the  need  for  a  change  had  been  empha- 
sized shortly  before  by  a  contiiet  of  opinion  between  the 
Governor  and  the  legislature  as  to  the  best  means  of  setting 
right  the  finances  of  the  Colony.  Parliament  having  been 
dissolved,  the  new  hoiises  declared  for  responsible  govern- 
ment, and  the  home  government  wisely  assented  to  their 
wish.  Accordingly,  the  "  cabinet  systen}  "  of  Britain  was 
established,  the  Uovernor's  executive  council  being  turned 
into  a  ministry  responsible  to  the  legislature,  and  the  Gov- 
ernor himself  becoming  a  sort  of  local  constitutional  sov- 
ereign on  the  model  of  the  British  crown,  that  is  to  say,  a 
sovereign  who  reigns  but  does  not  govern,  the  executive 
acts  done  in  his  name  being  done  by  the  advice  and  on 
the  responsil)ility  of  the  ministry,  who  hold  office  at  the 
pleasure  of  the  legislature.  Thus  from  1872  onward  the 
Colony  has  enjoyed  complete  self-government,  and  has 
prospered  under  it  despite  the  antagonism  which  has  fre- 
cxuently  shown  itself  between  the  eastern  and  western 


Ifl  ' 


THE  EUROPEANS   IN   SOUTH   AFRICA,    1854-95        14a 


l»r(>vinc'es,  an  aiitajjconisiii  due  jmrtly  to  (M'oiioinio  causes, 
partly  U>  tlie  jtredoniinance  of  tlio  Enfj^li;-]i  ek'Uicnt  in  tlie 
i'ornuT  and  of  the  Duteli  in  the  latter  ref^non.  The  work- 
ing of  the  cabinet  system  has  been  even  smoother  than 
in  most  of  the  other  British  colonies;  but  while  settiui; 
this  to  the  credit  of  the  good  sense  and  moderation  of  tlie 
l)eoi)le,  it  nmst  also  be  noted  that  the  nuist  exciting  crises 
which  have  arisen  in  South  Africa  have  lain  outside 
the  scope  of  the  colonial  nnnistry  and  legishiture,  being 
nuitters  which  have  touched  the  two  Dutch  rei)ubli«'s  and 
the  other  British  territories.  These  matters,  being  in- 
ternational, belong  to  the  British  crown,  and  to  its  local 
representative,  the  Governor,  in  his  capacity  of  High  Com- 
missioner for  South  Africa;  and  in  that  capacity  he  is  not 
required  to  consult  the  Cape  ministry  and  legislature,  but 
acts  under  the  directions  of  the  Colonial  Office  in  Loiulon. 

The  grant  of  cabinet  government  tended  to  stimulate 
political  life  among  the  Dutch  farmers,  hitherto  the  more 
backward  part  of  the  population,  and  in  1SS2  their  wishes 
secured  a  reversal  of  the  ordinance  nuide  sixty  years  be- 
fore for  the  exclusive  use  of  E  iglish  in  official  documents 
and  kgal  proceedings.  Dutch  was  now  placed  on  a  level 
with  English  as  an  official  language  in  Parliament  and  the 
law  courts.  But  this  assertion  of  Dutch  sentiment  was 
due  to  causes  which  will  be  better  understood  when  we 
come  to  the  events  of  1880  and  1881. 

Most  of  the  peaceful  growth  which  has  been  described 
would  have  been  more  rai)id  but  for  the  frequent  vexation 
of  native  wart .  Twice  under  the  rule  of  the  Dutch  Com- 
pany and  seven  times  under  the  British  crown  have  there 
been  sanguinary  conflicts  with  the  fierce  Kafir  tribes  of  the 
Kosa  family,  who  dwell  to  the  east  o^'  the  Colony.  On  the 
north  there  had  been  ©nly  Hottentots  a  weak  nomad  race, 


i  ' 
I 


1 1 


n 


144 


LMl'HEHSIONS  OF   SorTH   AKKICA 


Hi 


i'i 


w 


wlio  soon  vanished  under  tlie  attacks  of  smallpox  and  the 
])ressun!  of  the  whites.  On  tlie  northeast  tlie  deserts  of 
tht'  Kari'oo  lay  between  the  colonists  and  the  Kaftrs  who 
inha)»it<'d  the  i)lains  of  the  Upper  Oran<j:e  and  Vaal  rivers. 
Hut  on  the  east  the  country  was  eonii)aratively  well 
watered,  and  sui)ported  a  larjjfe  Kalir  population  full  of 
(H)ura^(?  and  fijj^htiuj^  spirit.  Collisions  between  them  and 
the  whites  were  inevitable.  The  country  they  occupied 
was  mostly  ruj;<;ed,  and  covered  with  a  dense  low  wood,  or 
rather  scrub,  traversed  ]»y  narrow  and  windiu^  tracks, 
which  were  of  course  familiar  to  them,  and  diflicult  for 
white  troops.  They  had  always  the  advanta<?e  in  ])oint 
of  numbers,  and  though  they  were  usually  l)eaten  and 
compelled  to  sue  for  peace,  the  obvious  anxiety  of  tlie 
cohmial  jifovernment  to  conclude  a  peace  em])oldeued  them 
to  fresh  outbreaks.  To  civilized  men,  who  know  the  enor- 
mous superiority  of  discipline  and  of  firearms,  it  seems 
stranj^^e  that  these  natives,  who  in  the  earlier  wars  had  no 
firearms,  should  liave  so  often  renewed  what  we  can  see 
was  a  hopeless  strugjjjle.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that 
the  natives,  who  saw  only  small  Avhite  forces  brougfht 
aj^ainst  them,  and  knew  that  the  whole  number  of  whites 
in  the  Colony  was  small,  have  never  realized,  and  do  not 
realize  even  to-day,  the  enormous  reserve  of  white  popu- 
lation in  Europe.  Their  minds  cannot  take  in  large  num- 
bers, cannot  look  far  forward,  cannot  gi'asp  large  issues, 
and  ai'e  swayed  by  sudden  gusts  of  feeling  which  over- 
come all  calculation  of  results.  Accordingly,  the  Kafirs 
returned  over  and  over  again  to  the  contest,  while  the  co- 
lonial government,  not  wishing  to  extend  its  frontiers,  and 
hating  the  expense  of  this  unprofitable  strife,  never  grap- 
pled with  the  problem  in  a  large  way,  but  tried  on  each 
occasion  to  do  just  enough  to  restore  order  for  the  time 


THK   EI'UOI'KANS   IN   SOl'TH   AFUK.'A,   1854-9;-)        145 

beisig^.  It  would  probaltly  liuve  Ikm'Ii  ItetttT  to  have  spent 
once  for  all  a  larj^e  «uni  in  a  llioroujrh  contiuest  of  the 
Kosas,  plantinu:  stron*;  forts  here  and  tliere  throuj^h  their 
country,  and  or«i:anizin«;  a  rejrular  «;«'ndannerie.  liut 
until  the  annexation  of  Natal  iii  1S4;5  phieed  liritish  powe'v 
on  the  other  side  of  these  turbulent  triln's,  the  j)r()cess  of 
('(MKjuest  niij^ht  w«*ll  seem  interininahle,  for  it  was  plain 
that  as  soon  as  one  elan  )ia«'  l)een  l)i'ouy:ht  to  suhinission 
troubles  would  l)reak  out  with  the  next  that  hiv  bevond  it, 
and  fresh  wars  luiv"  to  be  undertaken  to  reduce  each  of 
these  in  its  turn.  Some  allowance  must  therefore  l»e  made 
for  the  tendency  of  the  g;overnmei>t  to  take  short  views 
and  do  no  more  than  was  needed  for  the  monu'ut,  espe- 
ciallv  as  nearlv  everv  new  war  brou«dit  u])on  the  (iovernor 
for  the  time  bein«j^  tlie  displeasure  of  the  Colonial  Office, 
and  brouj^ht  upon  the  Colonial  Office  the  censure  of  econ- 
omists {ind  philanthroi)ists  at  home. 

The  theater  of  these  wars  was  the  country  alon^  the 
south  coast  between  Al^oa  Bay  and  the  Kei  Kiver,  and  an 
important  step  forward  was  nuide  when,  after  the  wars  of 
1846-47  and  1851-015,  the  province  of  British  Kaff'rai-ia, 
extending  to  the  Kei  River,  was  created,  placed  under 
imperial  officials,  and  garrisoned  l)y  British  regiments. 
Four  years  afterward,  in  1857,  the  Kafirs  of  this  })i-ovince, 
at  the  bidding  of  tlnnr  chiefs,  prompted  by  a  wizard  who 
professed  to  have  received  niessages  from  the  world  of 
spirits,  destroyed  their  cattle  and  flyir  stores  of  grain,  in 
the  belief  that  the  dead  ancestors  of  the  tribe  would  rea])- 
pear  and  join  them  in  driving  out  the  white  men,  while 
herds  of  cattle  would  issue  from  the  ground  and  cro])s 
would  suddenly  spring  up  and  cover  the  soib  Many  of  tlie 
clans  were  already  on  the  verge  of  famine  when  the  prom- 
ised day  arrived,  and  when  it  had  passed  stai'vation  began, 

10 


'I 


« 


\\i\ 


IMl'HKSSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AKUICA 


I  '    ' 


and  witliin  ii  few  moiitlis,  dospite  tlu;  ctt'orts  of  the  colo- 
nial autliorilii's  to  supply  t'ootl,  sonio  ;{l),()()()  Kalirs  per- 
ished of  hun^ei"  or  disease.  This  fi'i<,ddful  eatastrophe, 
whieh  earned  many  tiionsands  westward  '•  "^o  the  Colony 
in  seareh  of  work,  and  left  lar^'o  tracte  ■  mt,  led  to  the 
estahiishment  in  those  tracts  of  white  ..ettlers,  and  ulti. 
niately,  in  1805,  to  the  union  of  British  Katlraria  with  the 
C'oh)ny.  It  also  so  much  weakened  the  Kosas  that  for  the 
unpreeedentedly  h)n^  period  of  twenty  years  there  was  no 
Kafir  war.  In  1877  and  1880  some  risin«jjs  occnri'ed,  which 
were  sui>i)ressed  with  no  ^'reat  difliculty ;  and  in  18!)4  the 
boundaries  of  the  Colony,  which  had  been  advancin<;  by  a 
series  of  small  annexations,  were  linallv  rounded  off  on 
tin?  eastern  side  by  the  addition  of  the  teriitory  of  the 
Pondos,  which  made  it  conterminous  in  that  direction 
with  the  colony  of  Natal. 

To  com})lete  the  chronicle  of  native  wars,  we  oujjfht  now 
to  turn  to  Natal,  on  whose  borders  there  arose  in  1879  a 
conflict  with  the  greatest  native  power—  that  of  the  Zulus— 
which  the  British  had  yet  encountered. 

Before  that  year,  however,  a  momentous  cliaiinre  in  Brit- 
ish colonial  policy  had  occurred,  and  I  must  go  soiue  years 
back  to  describe  the  events  which  gave  rise  to  it. 

The  reader  will  recollect  that  in  1852  and  1854  Britain 
had  abjured  all  i)urpose  of  extending  the  boundaries  of 
her  dominion  toward  the  interior  by  recognizing  the  in- 
dependence  of  the  two  Dutch  republics,  whicli  date;  tlieir 
legal  rise  from  the  two  conventions  concluded  in  those 
years.  She  had  done  so  quite  honestly,  desiring  to  avoid 
the  expense  and  responsibility  which  further  advances 
must  entail,  and  with  the  wisli  of  leaving  the  two  new 
republics  to  work  out  their  own  salvation  in  their  own 
way.  For  some  years  nothing  occurred  to  create  fresh 
difficulties.     But  in  1858  a  war  broke  out  between  the 


P 


THK    KLUOl'KANS   IN   SOL'TII   Al'KK'A,   Isr.l-O;,        l»7 


(>nui},'('  Free  Stnt«'  inul  tlic  Hasiito  <'hi»'f  Moslicsli,  wlm 
oluim*'(l  IhikI  wliifli  tlu'  l-'riT  State  faniuTs  luul  oi-fuiiitMl. 
The  Free  State  (MuniiiaiMlos  attacked  liiiii,  and  liad  |Miit'- 
trated  liasutolaiid  as  tar  as  the  stroiij^hohl  of  Thaha 
l')usiy<»,  \vh»'ii  they  were  oblip'd  to  return  tt>  pruteet  tlieir 
own  t'arnis  from  tlie  roving  hands  of  hoi'senien  which  Mo- 
sliesli  hud  skilfully  detached  to  operate  in  their  i-eai'. 
Jiein<^  hard  jtressed,  they  ai>i)ealed  to  the  (lovernor  of 
Caiie  Colony  to  niediute  In'tween  them  and  Moshesh.  Mo- 
shesh  ajj:r«'ed,  and  a  new  frontier  was  settled  by  the  (lovei*- 
iior.  However,  in  ISO.'*  fresh  troubles hrok"  out,  and  tlieit; 
was  n«,'ain  war  between  jMoshesh  and  the  Fwh'  State.  The 
(lovernor  of  Cape  Colony  was  apiin  invoked,  but  his  de- 
cision was  not  respeeted  by  the  Hasiitos,  wh(»m  Moshesh 
could  not  alwavs  control,  — for  thev  are  much  less  sul»nns- 
sivo  to  their  chiefs  than  are  the  Zulus,  — and  hostilities 
luivin^  recommenced  after  a  brief  interval  of  peace,  the 
Free  State  nuule  a  supreme  etTort,  and  in  ISOS  was  on 
tlie  point  of  destroyin«;  the  Basuto  })(^wer,  thoujih  it  had 
never  l)een  able  to  capture  Thaba  Bo  yo,  when  Moshesh 
ai)pealed  to  the  Ili^j^h  Commissioner  to  extend  liritish  pro- 
tection to  his  people.  Unwilling;  to  see  Basutoland  an- 
nexed by  tlie  Free  State,  and  fearing-  injury  to  the  Colony 
from  the  dis])ersioii  of  Basuto  fugitives  thr(m«i'h  it,  the 
Higfh  Commissioner  consented,  and  declared  the  liasutos 
British  subjects.  The  Free  State  was  suif'ered  to  retain 
a  larj^e  tract  of  fertile  land  aloii<?  the  rorth  bank  of  the 
Caledon  Kiver,  which  it  had  conquered:  but  it  was  mor- 
tified by  seeing  British  authority  establi.slied  to  the  south 
of  it,  all  the  way  fri)m  Natal  to  the  l)orders  of  Cape  C^)l- 
ony,  and  the  final  extinction  of  the  hopes  Avhicrh  it  had 
cherished  of  extending  its  territories  to  the  sea  and  acquir- 
ing a  harbor  at  the  St.  John's  Kiver. 

These  eveuts,  which  befell  in  1SG9,  mark  the  recom- 


I: 


P 


!  ;il 


1  IS 


IMI'UKSSIONS   OF   SOl'TM    AKHKA 


l"^, 


I) 


iiu'iict'iiH'nt  of  lii'itisli  inlviiiKT  toward  tin*  iiitrrior.  Still 
iiiofc  nioiiiciitous  was  unotln'i' occniTriKM'  which  hrloii^'s  t«> 
tin*  same  vt'ar.  In  lS(i<)  and  1.S70  a  siiddni  rush  was  niadr 
t'roin  all  parts  of  South  Africa  to  a  snuill  district  Ix'twccii 
the  Moddcraiid  the  Vaal  rivers  (wlicrc  the  town  of  Ki;nl>er- 
lev  now  stajids),  in  which  diarn<mds  hatl  l»een  discovered. 
Within  a  few  months  thousands  of  dijr<r«'»"s  from  Kuropo 
and  America,  as  well  as  from  the  su»'roundin«;  countries, 
were  at  work  here,  an<l  the  i-e^ion,  hitiierto  nej^lected,  he- 
<*ame  a  prize  of  inestimahle  value.  A  <piestion  at  once 
aiose  as  to  its  ownership,  'i'he  ()ranjx<'  l''ree  State  claimed 
it,  l»ut  it  was  also  claimed  by  a  (Jricpta  (half-hreed)  ca}>tain, 
mimed  Nicholas  Waterboer,  son  of  ohl  Andries  Waterboer, 
and  by  u  native  Hatlapin  clii»'f,  as  well  as  by  th(!  Transvaal 
Kepul>lic.  The  claims  of  th«'  last-named  state  were  dis- 
posed of  by  the  decision  of  the  (iovenun*  of  Natal,  wlio  luid 
been  recojjfnized  as  arbitrator  by  the  (Jri(|uas,  the  liathipin, 
and  the  President  of  the  Hepublic.  He  awarded  the  tract 
in  <lispute  to  Watei'l)oer,  thereby  cutting  out  the  Free 
State,  which  1  .d  not  been  a  party  to  the  arlatration  ;  and 
Waterboer  placed  himself  under  the  l^ritish  j^^overnnient, 
which  presently  erected  the  country  into  a  Crown  (\)l(my 
under  the  name  of  (Jri(|ualand  West.  This  was  in  1S71. 
The  Free  State  })rotested,  and  was  after  a  time  able  to 
ai)peal  to  a  jndfjfnuMit  delivered  by  a  I^ritish  eourt,  which 
found  that  Waterboer  liad  never  enjoyed  any  riji^ht  to  the 
territory.  However,  the  <'olonv  had  bv  this  time  been  set 
nj)  and  tlie  British  tla^  displayed.  The  Britisli  {j^overn- 
ment,  witliont  either  admittin*;  or  denyinij  the  Free  State 
title,  declaimed  that  a  district  in  whi(^h  it  was  diflHcult  to 
keep  order  amid  a  turbulent  and  sliiftinjj^  population  on^ht 
to  be  nnder  tlie  eontrol  of  a.  stronj;:  ])Ower,  and  offered 
the  Free  State  a  sum  of  ninety  thonsand  i)onnds  in  settle- 


i'  ' 


Tin;    lll'Kol'KANS    IN    SOlTIl    AI'WKA.    |s:,4-!i.-.        1  |'.» 


mont  of  wlijitovor  «*lniin  it  iiiipht  imsHOSH.  The  jh'Cfpfiiiirc 
l»V  tlif  Frt'c  Stiitc  ill  lH7(i  of  tliis  sum  closrjl  tlu'  <'oiiti*<i- 
v<M*sy,  tlMMijxli  a  stMisc  (if  injustice  coiitiiiiK'tl  to  I'lmklc  in 
the  Itrnists  of  sonic  of  tli'*  citi/rns  «»f  liir  Kcjiulilic.  Anii- 
(•alilo  relations  have  sul»sist»'<l  ever  since  lu'tWieii  it  and 
Cape  Colony,  and  the  control  of  the  liiitish  p>v<'rnnient 
over  the  linsntos  has  secured  for  it  [n'iwr  in  the  quarter 
wliich  was  foi'iiM'rlv  most  distui"l»ed. 

These  two  cases  sh(»w  liow  \arious  are  the  causes  and 
how  mixed  the  motives  wliii'h  press  a  "Treat  power  forward 
even  apiinst  the  wishes  of  its  statesmen.  The  liasutos 
were  declared  British  suhjects  pai'tly  out  of  a  sympathetic 
wish  to  rescue  and  protect  them,  partly  hecause  policy  rc- 
(piired  the  a<'<inisition  of  a  country  naturally  strong'  and 
lioMin^'  an  important  stratcyical  position.  (Jri(|ualaiid 
West,  taken  in  the  belief  that  Waterboer  liad  a  "jood  titl^^ 
to  it,  was  retained  partly,  pei'haps,  because  a  population 
had  crowded  into  it  which  consist e<l  nwiinly  of  Hritish 
subjects,  and  was  not  easily  controllable  by  a  small  state, 
but  mainly  because  <M)lonial  feeling'  refused  to  part  witli  a 
rejjion  of  such  exceptional  mineral  wealth.  And  tlie  re- 
tention of  (iricjualand  West  led,  liefore  lon<r,  t<>  the  ac(|ui- 
sition  of  Bechuanaland,  which  in  its  turn  pas.sed  miturally 
into  tliat  northwanl  extension  of  l^ritish  iuHuenee  which 
has  carried  the  Union  Jack  to  the  shores  of  l^ake 
Tan«,'anyika.  The  wish  to  restrict  resjtonsibility,  which 
had  been  so  strong  twenty  years  liefore,  liad  now  died 
out  of  tlie  British  public  at  home,  and  had  j»rown  feeltler 
even  in  the  minds  of  the  statesmen  who.se  liusiness 
it  was  to  find  the  money  needed  for  the.se  increasin<T 
eharijes  on  the  imjierial  treasury;  while  the  philanthroi>ic 
interest  in  the  native  races,  stimuhited  by  the  diseoveries 
of  Livinj^stoiie,  now  took  the  form  not  of  proposing;  to 

10* 


K 


^ 


el 


150 


IMPRESSIONS   OF   SOUTH  AFIiICA 


^ .  • 


' 


r    I 


K 


il^JM^^H 


leave  them  to  themselves,  but  of  desiring  to  protect  them 
against  the  adventurers,  whether  of  Boer  or  of  English 
l)lood,  whom  it  was  found  impossible  to  prevent  from 
pi*essing  forward  into  tlie  wilderness. 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  change,  as  yet  only  an  incipi- 
ent  change,  in  the  public  opinion  of  the  English  people, 
wlio  now  began  to  feel  the  desire  not  merely  to  retain  l)ut 
to  exi)and  their  colonial  dominion,  should  have  become 
apparent  just  at  the  time  when  there  occurred  that  dis- 
covery of  diamonds  which  showed  that  this  hitherto  least 
progressive  of  the  larger  colonies  possessed  unsuspected 
stores  of  wealth.  Tlie  discovery,  which  brought  a  new 
stream  of  enterprising  and  ambitious  men  into  the 
country,  and  fixed  the  attention  of  the  world  upon  it, 
has  proved  a  turning-point  in  South  African  history. 

That  change  in  the  views  of  the  British  government  on 
which  I  have  been  commenting  found  at  this  moment  a 
fresh  expression  in  another  quarter.  In  1869  the  Portu- 
guese government  concluded  a  commercial  treaty  with  the 
South  African  Republic,  under  which  it  seemed  probable 
that  a  considerable  trade  might  spring  up  between  the 
Portuguese  coast  of  the  Indian  Ocean  and  the  interior. 
This  called  attention  to  the  port  of  Louren^o  Marques, 
on  the  shore  of  Delagoa  Bay,  the  best  haven  upon 
that  coast.  Great  Britain  claimed  it  under  a  cession 
which  had  been  obtained  from  a  native  chief  of  the  coun- 
try by  a  British  naval  exploring  expedition  in  1822.  Por- 
tugal, however,  resisted  the  claim.  In  1872  it  was  referred 
to  tlie  arbitration  of  Marshal  MacMahon,  then  President 
of  the  French  repul)lic,  and  in  1875  he  awarded  the  terri- 
tory in  dispute  to  Portugal.  Both  cases  were  weak,  and 
it  is  not  easy  to  say  which  was  the  weaker,  for,  although  the 
Portuguese  had  undoubtedly  been  first  on  the  ground. 


rk 


a*  1 


jv>b.,.     C 


THE   EUROPEANS   IX   SOUTH  AFRICA,  1S54-95        151 


their  occupation,  often  disturbed  by  the  native  tril^es,  liad 
been  extremely  precarious.  Tlie  decision  was  a  serious  bh)\v 
to  British  hope^.,  and  has  become  increasingly  serious  witii 
the  further  development  of  the  country.  Yet  it  was  miti- 
gated by  a  provision  contained  in  the  agreement  for  arbi- 
tration, that  the  Power  against  whom  the  decision  might 
go  should  have  thereafter  from  the  successful  Power 
a  right  of  preemption  as  against  any  other  state  desiring 
to  purchase  the  tCxTitory.^  This  provision  is  momentous 
as  giving  Britain  the  right  to  prevent  not  only  the  South 
African  Republic,  but  any  European  power,  from  ac- 
quiring a  point  of  the  utmost  importance  both  commer- 
cial and  strategical.  Rumors  have  often  been  circulated 
that  Britain  herself  would  gladly  acquire  the  harlior  of 
Delagoa  Bay,  but  the  sensitive  patriotism  of  the  Portu- 
guese people  is  at  present  so  strongly  opposed  to  any 
sale  of  territory  that  no  Portuguese  ministry  is  likely  to 
propose  it.- 

At  the  very  time  when  the  attempt  to  acquire  Delagoa 
Bay  revealed  the  new  x^urposes  which  had  begun  to  ani- 
mate Great  Britain,  another  scheme  was  suggested  to  the 
Colonial  Office  by  the  success  which  had  lately  attended 
its  efforts  in  Canada.  In  1867  the  passing  of  the  Britisn 
North  America  Act  drew  the  theretofore  isolated  provinces 
of  the  Dominion  into  a  confederation,  relieving  the  home 
government  of  some  grave  responsibilities,  and  giving  to 
the  whole  country  the  advantages  of  common  administra- 

'  It  has  been  stated  (see  Mr.  Molteno's  "Federal  South  Africa." 
p.  H7)  that  Portugal  was  tlien  prepared  to  sell  her  rights  for  a  small 
sum— according  to  rei)ort,  for  £12,000  ($60,000). 

2  In  1891  the  southern  boundary  of  Portuguese  territory  was  fixed 
by  a  treaty  with  Great  Britain  at  a  point  on  the  coast  named  Kosi 
Bay,  about  seventy  miles  soutli  of  Louren^o  Marques. 


h 


1 


ifft'v 


t 


' 


■  « 

I 


M 


152 


IMPKESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


i   t 


I  I 


«i 


tioii  and  legislation  in  matters  of  eoinnion  eoneern.  Loi'd 
Carnarvon,  tlien  Colonial  Secretary,  threw  himself  into  the 
idea  of  similarly  nniting  the  different  colonies  and  states  of 
South  Africa.  It  had  l)een  advocated  by  Sir  George  (irey^ 
when  Governor  in  18o<S,  and  had  even  received  the  sup- 
port of  the  Orange  Free  State,  whose  Volksraad  passed 
a  resolution  favoring  it  in  that  year.  Many  considera- 
tions of  pracrtical  convenience  suggested  this  scheme,  chief 
among  them  the  desirability  of  having  both  a  uniform 
policy  in  native  affairs  (the  absence  of  which  had  recently 
caused  trouble)  and  a  common  commercial  policy  and  tariff 
system.  Accordingly,  in  1875  he  addressed  a  despatch  to 
the  Governor  of  Cape  Colony,  recommending  such  a  scheme 
as  fit  to  be  adopted  by  that  colony,  which  three  years  be- 
fore had  received  responsible  government,  and  Mr.  J.  A. 
Froude  was  sent  out  to  press  it  upon  the  people.  The 
choice  did  not  prove  a  fortunate  one,  l)ut  even  a  more 
skilful  emissary  would  probably  have  failed,  for  the  mo- 
ment was  inopportune.  The  Cai)e  people  were  not  ready 
for  so  large  and  far-reaching  a  proposal.  The  Orange 
Free  State  was  exasperated  at  the  loss  of  Griipialand  West. 
The  Transvaal  people,  though,  as  we  shall  see  presenth', 
their  republic  was  in  sore  straits,  were  averse  to  anything 
that  could  affect  their  independence.  However,  Sir  Bartle 
Frere,  the  next  Governor  of  the  Cape,  who  went  out  in 
1877,  entered  heartily  into  Lord  Carnarvon's  plan,  which 
continued  to  be  pressed  till  1880,  when  it  was  rejected  l)y 
the  Cape  Parliament,  largely  at  the  instance  of  envoys 
from  the  Transvaal  Boers,  who  urged  the  Cape  Boers  not 
to  accept  it  until  the  Transvaal  (which,  as  shall  be  pres- 
ently set  forth,  had  been  annexed  in  1877)  should  have 
regained  its  independence.  This  failure  of  the  proposals 
of  the  home  government  seriously  damaged  the  prospect* 


THE   EUROPEANS   IN   SOUTH   AFRICA,   1854-95        153 


of  future  federation  seliemer,  ami  is  onlv  one  of  several 
instances  in  South  African  liistoi  v  that  show  how  nnich 
harm  impatience  may  do,  even  when  the  object  is  itself  an 
admirable  one. 

The  next  step  in  the  forward  march  of  British  rule  took 
place  far  to  the  southwest,  on  the  borders  of  Natal.  Tlie 
territory  had,  in  1850,  become  a  separate  colony,  distinct 
from  the  Cape,  and  with  a  le*rislative  council  three  foui-tlis 
of  whose  members  were  elective.  It  had  still  a  relatively 
small  white  population,  fen-  many  of  the  Boer  immi«irants 
had  quitted  it  between  1848  and  1848,  and  thoujj^h  a  Ixxly 
of  English  settlers  arrived  soon  after  the  latter  year, 
there  were  in  1878  only  some  25,000  white  residents, 
while  the  natives  numbered  fullv  :}00,000.  The  Zulu 
kingdom,  which  adjoined  it  on  the  east,  had  passed 
(in  1872)  from  the  sluggish  Panda  to  his  more  energetic 
son  Cetewayo  (pronounced  '' Ketshwayo  ")i  whose  ambi- 
tious spirit  had  revived  the  military  organization  and 
traditions  of  his  uncle  Tshaka.  Cetewayo  had  been 
installed  as  king  by  a  British  ofllicial,  and  had  lived 
ever  since  at  peace  with  the  colony;  but  the  powerful 
army  which  he  possessed  roused  disquiet  among  tin;  Na- 
talians,  and  alarmed  the  then  Governor  of  the  Cape  and 
High  Commissioner  for  South  Africa,  Sir  Bai'tle  Prere. 
Diiferences  had  arisen  between  him  and  Cetewavo,  and 
when  the  latter  refused  to  submit  to  the  demands  whi<'h 
the  High  Commissioner  addressed  to  him,  including  a 
requirement  that  he  should  disband  his  regiments  and 
receive  a  British  resident,  war  was  declared  against  him. 
This  act  was  justified  at  the  time  on  the  ground  that 
the  Zulu  military  power  constituted  a  standing  men- 
ace to  Natal  and  to  South  Africa  in  general,  and  that 
the  vast  majority  of  the  natives  living  in  Natal  itself 


Sir* 


>ii 


I 


l\ 


i 


si 

H 


154 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFKICA 


I 


inijLJrlit  join  the  Zulu  kin<?  were  he  to  invade  the  Colony. 
Whether  this  risk  was  suflieiently  imminent  to  warrant 
such  a  step  was  then,  and  has  been  since,  warmly  debated 
in  Enjiland.  Most  of  those  who  have  j^iven  impartial 
study  to  the  subject,  and  have  studied  also  the  character 
and  earlier  career  of  the  High  Commissioner,  are  disposed 
to  think  that  war  might  have  been  and  ought  to  have 
been  avoided,  and  that  Sir  Bartle  Frere,  in  declaring  it, 
committed  fi  grave  error;  but  it  is  right  to  add  that 
there  are  numy  in  South  Africa  who  still  defend  his 
action.  The  invasion  of  Zuluhmd  which  followed  began 
with  a  disaster— the  surprise  at  Isandhlwaua  (January, 
1879)  of  a  British  force,  which  was  almost  annihilated 
by  a  vastly  superior  native  army.  Ultimately,  how- 
ever, Cetewayo  was  defeated  and  made  prisoner.  Zulu- 
land  was  divided  among  thirteen  petty  chiefs  under  a 
British  resident,  and.  subsequently,  in  1887,  annexed  to  the 
British  crown  as  a  dependency,  to  be*  administered  by  the 
Governor  of  Natal.  Ex?ept  for  some  disturbances  in  1888, 
its  people  have  since  remained  peaceful,  prosperous,  and 
to  all  appearance  contented. 

We  may  now  return  to  follow  the  fo;  tunes  of  the  emi- 
grant Boers  of  the  far  northeastern  interior,  whose  repub- 
lic, recognized  by  the  Imperial  Government  in  1852,  was 
now,  after  twenty-five  years,  to  be  brought  into  a  closer 
connection  than  ever  with  the  British  colonies  by  events 
which  are  still  fresh  in  men's  memories,  and  which  are 
exerting  a  potent  influence  on  the  politics  of  our  own  time. 
The  scale  or  these  events  was  small,  but  the  circumstances 
are  full  of  instruction,  and  many  years  may  yet  elapse  be- 
fore the  consequences  have  been  fully  worked  out. 

The  Dutch  farmers  who  had  settled  bevond  the  Vaai 
River  were  more  rude  and  uneducated  than  those  of  the 


THE   EUROPEANS   IX   SOUTH   AF'IICA.   \sr,wjri        155 


Free  State,  liutl  no  admixture  of  Eiiirl'sli  Idood,  ami  re- 
mained unaiTected  bv  intercourse  with  th(^  more  civilized 
people  of  Cape  Colony.  Their  love  of  independence  was 
ae(!onipanied  by  a  tendency  to  faction  and  dissension. 
Their  warlike  spirit  had  i)rodueed  a  readiness  to  take  uj) 
arms  on  sli<;jht  occasions,  and  had  degenerated  into  a  fon<l- 
ness  for  predatory  exi)editions.  They  were,  moreover,  al- 
wavs  desirous  of  eidai'ffinji:  the  area  of  their  st(»<'k  farms 
l)v  the  annexation  of  fresh  territorv  to  the  nortli  and 
west,  and  thus  were  constantlv  brought  into  collision  witli 
the  native  occupants  of  the  land.  Scattered  over  a  wide 
area  of  pasture-land,  they  were  practically  exempt  from  the 
control  of  law-courts  or  magistrates,  while  at  the  same 
time  the  smallness  of  their  numbers,  and  the  family  ties 
which  linked  them  into  jealous  and  mutually  distrustful 
groups,  gave  rise  to  personal  rivalries  among  the  leadei's 
and  bitter  feuds  among  the  adherents  of  each  faction, 
resembling  those  which  used  to  distract  a  city  republic 
in  ancient  Greece  or  medieval  Italv.  The  absence  of  anv 
effective  government  had  attracted  many  adventurers  from 
various  parts  of  South  Africa,  who  wandeved  as  traders 
or  hunters  through  the  wilder  parts  of  the  country  and 
along  its  borders,  often  violent  and  reckless  men,  who  ill- 
treated  the  natives,  and  constituted  not  only  a  public 
scandal,  but,  by  the  provocations  which  they  gave  to  the 
Kafir  chiefs,  a  danger  to  the  peace  of  the  adjoining  British 
territories,  as  well  as  to  that  of  the  Transvaal  itself. 

From  their  first  settlement  bevond  the  Vaal  in  the  vears 
immediately  following  the  Great  Trek  of  lS3G,the  farmers, 
though  considering  themselves  to  form  one  people,  had 
been  grouped  in  several  small  communities.  In  l.sr)2  there 
were  four  such,  those  of  Potchefstroom,  Utrecht,  Lyden- 
burg,  and  Zoutpansberg,  each  having  its  Volksraad  (peo- 


I 


11' 


150 


LMPUESSIONS  UF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


M  .  ' 


il 


j)le's  council)  and  president  or  executive  head,  while  a  sort 
of  loosely  federative  tie  linked  them  tog'cther  for  the  j)ur- 
poses  not  of  internal  administration,  l)ut  of  defense  ajjainst 
common  foes. 

In  IS;")?  the  Potchefstroom  people  tried  to  con(pier 
the  Orauffe  Free  State,  then  in  the  tliird  year  of  Hs 
life,  l)ut  desisted  on  findinjjf  tluit  the  infant  Republic 
was  jn'epared  to  defend  itself.  Presently  a  sinj^le  Volks- 
raad  for  all  the  communities  beyond  the  Vaal  was  chosen, 
and  in  IH.IH  an  instrument  called  the  ''Grondwet,"  or 
Fundamental  Law,  was  drawn  up  by  a  body  of  delegates 
elected  for  the  purpose.  It  was  presently  adopted  by  two  of 
the  semi-independent  communities, those  of  Potchefstroom 
and  Zoutpansl)erg:,  and  in  1800  also  by  those  of  Lyden- 
burg  and  Utrecht,  which  had  by  that  time  united.  It  has 
been  since  several  times  modified,  and  the  question 
whether  it  is  to  be  deemed  a  truly  Rigid  constitution, 
like  that  of  the  United  States  n;  that  of  the  Swiss  Con- 
federation, has  given  rise  to  much  controversy.'  A  civil 
war  broke  out  in  1862,  and  the  (iountry  can  hardly  be  said 
to  have  reached  one  united  government  till  18G4,  when  the 
then  ])resident,  Mr.  M.  W.  Pretorius  (son  of  the  old  an- 
tagonist of  the  English),  was  recognized  by  all  the  com- 
munities and  factions  as  their  executive  head. 

Even  in  1804  the  white  population  of  the  South  Afri(;an 
Republic  was  very  small,  probably  not  more  than  30,000 
all  told,  giving  an  average  of  less  than  one  person  to  three 
square  miles.  There  were,  however,  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  natives,  a  few  of  whom  we:'e  living  as  servants, 
under  a  system  of  enforced  labor  which  ./as  some- 
times hardly  distinguishable  from  slavery,  while  the 
vast   majority   were    ruled   by  their   own    'chiefs,  some 

^  See  especially  the  case  of  Brown  vs.  Leyds,  recently  (January, 
1807)  decided  l\v  the  High  Court  of  the  South  African  Republic. 


n 


THE  EUROPEANS  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA,  1854-9;')         157 


as  tribiitiirics  <»t'  tin*  licpiil)!!*',  some  jn-actically  ind**- 
pcudt'iit  of  it,  Witli  the  latter  wars  wore  t'reciuently  raj^;- 
jnijf— wars  in  wliich  shockinjr  cruelties  were  i)eri)et rated  on 
both  sides,  the  Kafirs  niassacrinjx  tlie  white  tVniilies  wJiom 
they  surprised,  the  Boer  coniniandos  taking  a  savage  ven- 
ii'eancre  upon  the  tribes  when  tliey  eaptui''Ml  a  kraal  or 
mountain  stron^rhold.  It  was  tlu^  si<;ht  of  these  wars 
which  drove  Dr.  Livingstone  to  bepn  his  famous  explo- 
rations to  the  north.  The  farmers  were  too  few  to  re- 
(hu'e  the  natives  to  submission,  thou<ili  always  able  to 
defeat  them  in  the  field,  and  while  they  relished  an  «'X- 
pedition,  they  had  an  iuvineible  dislike  to  any  jn'otraett'd 
operations  which  cost  nu)ney.  Taxes  they  would  not  j)ay. 
They  lived  in  a  sort  of  rude  plenty  anu)n^'  their  sheei>  and 
cattle,  but  they  had  hardly  any  coined  money,  conduetin*; 
their  transactions  by  barter,  and  they  were  too  rude  to 
value  the  benefits  which  <]^overnment  secures  to  a  civilized 
people.  Accordinj^ly  the  treasury  remained  almost  empty, 
the  paper  money  which  was  issued  fell  till  in  1870  it  was 
worth  only  one  fourth  of  its  face  value,  no  public  improve- 
ments were  made,  no  pro})er  administration  existed,  and 
every  man  did  that  which  Avas  right  in  his  own  eyes. 
In  1872  Mr.  M.  W.  Pretorius  was  ()bliged  to  resign  the 
presidency,  owing  to  the  unpopularity  he  had  incurred 
by  accepting  the  arbitration  mentioned  above  (p.  148), 
which  declared  the  piece  of  territory  where  diamonds 
had  been  found  not  to  belong  to  the  Republic,  and 
which  the  Volksraad  thereui)on  repudiated.  His  suc- 
cessor was  Mr.  Burgers,  a  Cape  Dutchman,  who  had 
formerlj'^  been  a  clergyman  of  the  Dutch  Reformed 
Church,  a  man  of  energy,  integrity,  and  eloquence, 
but  defi(4ent  in  practical  judgment,  and  who  soon  be- 
came distrusted  on  account  of  his  theological  opinions. 
It  used  to  be  jestingly  said  that  the  Boers  disliked  him 


''  I 


158 


IMl'UESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


)</ 


'!     . 


\^i 


beciiuse  he  dciiied  that  the  devil  possessed  that  tail  wliieli 
is  showu  ill  the  pictures  that  adorn  the  old  Dutch  Bibles; 
but  his  deviations  from  orthodoxy  ^vent  iiiucli  further 
than  this,  iiiid  were  deemed  by  the  peoi)le  to  be  the  cause 
of  the  misfortunes  they  exi)erieiiced  under  his  guidance. 
lie  formed  large  plans  for  tlie  development  of  tlie 
country  and  the  extension  of  Boer  power  over  Soutli  Africa, 
plans  which  his  citizens  were  unable  to  ap})reciate  and  tlie 
resources  at  his  disposal  were  quite  unfit  to  accomplish. 
Disorganization,  aggravated  by  intestine  faction,  grew 
worse  and  worse.  The  state  was  practically  bankrupt ; 
trade  had  ceased,  money  could  not  be  raised.  In  ISTG,  in  a 
war  which  had  broken  out  with  Sikukuni,  a  Kafir  chief 
who  lived  in  the  mountains  of  the  northeast,  the  Boers 
were  repulsed,  and  ultimately  returned  in  confusion  to 
their  homes.  On  the  south,  Cetewayo,  then  in  the  zenith 
of  his  power,  was  unfriendly  and  seemed  likely  to  i)0ur 
in  his  Zulu  hordes.  The  weakness  and  disorders  of  the 
Rei)ublic  had  become  a  danger  not  only  to  the  British 
subjects  who  had  begun  to  settle  in  it,  especially  at  the 
Lydenburg  gold-mines,  but  also  to  the  neighboring  British 
territories,  and  especially  to  Natal ;  so  a  British  commis- 
sioner was  sent  to  examine  into  the  condition  of  the  coun- 
try, with  secret  instructions  empowering  him  to  proclaim, 
if  he  should  deem  it  necessary,  and  if  he  was  satisfied 
that  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants  would  approve, 
its  annexation  to  the  British  crown.  After  three  months' 
inquiry  the  commissioner.  Sir  Theophilus  Shepstone, 
exercised  this  power  upon  April  12,  1877,  and  his  act 
was  approved  by  the  High  Commissioner  at  the  Cape 
and  by  the  Colonial  Secretary  in  England.  President 
Burgers  had  endeavored  to  rouse  his  people  to  reform  by 
pointing  out  that  only  through  reforms  could  they  preserve 


I 


THE  ELKOl'EANS  IN  hULTli  AFKICA,  1854-95         150 


tlieir  iiulrpendoTico.  Tliey  aj^rced  to  the  rofornis,  but  w^nilil 
not  lu'lp  liiiu  to  carry  tliciii  out,  and  obstinately  refused  to 
pay  taxes.  He  was  helpless,  for  wliile  a  secition  of  the  pop- 
ulation supported  Paul  Krupr,  his  oi>p()nent  in  the 
approaehinj;  presidential  election,  others  (especially  the 
English  who  had  settled  in  the  spots  where  a  little  ^n)ld 
had  been  found)  favored  annexation  to  Great  liritain, 
and  most  had  been  repelled  by  his  unorthodox  opin- 
ions. Accordingly,  after  enterin*,'  a  protest  ajj^ainst 
the  annexation,  he  returned  to  Cape  (.\)lony  and  received 
a  pension,  his  private  means  havinjj:  been  entirely  spent 
in  the  service  of  ids  countrv.'  The  Vi(;e-President  (Mr. 
Paul  Kruger)  and  the  executive  council  of  the  liepublic 
also  protested  and  sent  delegates  to  London  to  remon- 
strate. By  the  nuiss  of  the  Boer  people— for  the  few 
English,  of  course,  approved— little  displeasure  was 
shown  and  no  resistance  made.  Had  a  popular  vote  been 
taken  it  would  doubtless  have  been  adverse  to  annexa- 
tion, for  a  memorial  circulated  shortly  afterward,  pray- 
ing for  a  reversal  of  Sir  T.  Shepstone's  act,  received  the 
signatures  of  a  large  majority  of  the  Boer  citizens. 
But  while  they  regretted  their  independence,  they  had 
been  so  much  depressed  by  their  disasters,  and  were  so 
much  relieved  to  know  that  the  strong  arm  of  Britain 
would  now  repel  any  Kafir  invasion,  as  to  take  the  change 
more  quietly  than  any  one  who  remembered  their  earlier 
history  would  have  expected. 

On  the  English  public,  which  knew  little  and  cared  less 

*  Some  interestinjif  extracts  from  the  iiiirrative,  viiidicatiiif^  liis 
comluet,  whieli  lie  liad  prepared  and  whicli  was  publislied  after  liis 
death  (in  1882),  maybe  found  in  ^[r.  John  Nixon's  "Complete  Story 
of  the  Transvaal,"  an  interesting  book,  though  written  in  no  judicial 
spii'it. 


n 


I 


i 


I' I 


!i' 


v\ 


1(50 


IMI'UKSSroNS  OF   SOUTH   AFWK'A 


Ml 


t 

.1 


■\n 


I) 


HI  <!•!'' 


» 


jiliout  Soutli  Afrifinii  nflPairs,  tlic  news  tlint  iliclr  nnpire 
Imd  lH>(*n  (»xt«Mi(l«Hl  l)y  a  tcnitorv  iicMrly  as  hir^*'  as  tin' 
Uiiitod  Kiiiprdoiii,  tliouj^h  it  came  as  a  coinplctc  surprise, 
])r()<lu('('(l  little  impression.  They  were  then  exeited  over 
the  outbreak  of  the  war  between  Russia  and  the  Turks, 
and  the  keen  party  stru^ij:U's  whieli  Lord  Heaeonsfield's 
ajjparent  desire  to  help  the  Turks  had  caused  in  Kn^Hand, 
so  that  scant  attention  was  jriven  to  a  distant  colonial 
(juestion.  A  motion  condemning  the  annexation  whicli 
was  brou^lit  forward  in  the  House  ol'  Commons  received 
no  sup])OJ"t.  Nearly  all  of  those  few  who  cared  about 
South  Africa  had  been  alienated  from  the  Boers  bv  their 
tn'atment  of  the  nativ  \s.  Scarcelv  anv  one  foresaw  the 
lon^'  series  of  troubles,  not  yet  ended,  to  which  the  annex- 
ation was  destiiK'd  to  give  rise.  Neitlier  did  it  create 
any  serious  opposition  in  Cape  Colony,  though  the  Dutch 
element  there  regarded  with  misgivings  the  withdrawal 
of  independence  from  their  emigrant  kinsfolk. 

To  those  who  look  back  now  at  the  act,  in  the  light  of 
the  events  that  followed,  it  seems  a  highhanded  i)roceed- 
ing  to  deprive  of  its  independence  a  republic  which 
had  been  formally  recognized  twenty  five  years  before, 
and  to  do  this  without  giving  the  people  an  opi)ortunity 
of  declaring  their  wishes.  Yet  the  act  was  not  doiic  in  a 
spirit  of  rapacity.  Neither  the  British  government  nor 
the  British  people  had  the  least  idea  of  the  wealth  that 
lay  hidden  beneath  the  barren  and  solitary  ridges  of  the 
Witwatersrand.  No  one  in  England  talked  (though  the 
notion  had  ('rossed  a  few  ambitious  minds)  of  pushing 
British  dominion  up  to  the  Zambesi.  The  Transvaal  Re- 
public was  bankrupt  and  helpless,  distracted  by  internal 
(piarrels,  unable  to  collect  any  taxes,  apparently  unable  to 
defend  itself  against  its  Kafir  enemies,  and  likely  to  be  the 
cause  of  native  troubles  which  might  i)robably  spread  till 


THE  EUROl'KANH  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA,  18:)4-95         KJl 


thcv  art'('<'t«'(l  all  Hun»p«'aiis  in  South  Africa.  Tlu'iv  was 
SOUR*  reason  to  lu'lirvc  that  tlio  citizt'iis,  tlumjjh  they 
}iad  not  lu'eii  consultiMl,  wouJil  soou  aociuiesco  in  tlie 
clian{jft*,  espcfially  wlien  tliey  found,  as  tlicy  soon  did  find, 
tluit  the  vahie  of  property  rose  with  the  i)rospe''t  of  se- 
eurity  and  of  the  earryin«;  out  of  internal  inn)rovenients 
by  u  stronju:  and  wealthy  power.  ISueli  was  i-ertainly 
tlie  belief  of  Sir  T.  Shepstout'  and  of  Lord  Carnarvon, 
and  it  seemed  to  be  eouliinied  by  tlieapi)arent  tran<iuillity 
with  which  the  annexation  was  received  })y  the  Boers. 

So,  indeed,  tiiey  irnj^flit  luive  ae(inieseed,  notwithstanding; 
their  strenuous  love  of  independence,  had  tliey  been  wisely 
dealt  witli.  But  the  Britisli  p)verunieut  proceeded  forth- 
witli  to  eonimit  three  capital  blunders. 

Tlie  first  of  these,  and  the  least  excusable,  was  the  fail- 
ure to  grant  that  local  autonomy  which  Sir  T.  Shepif-.tone 
had  announced  when  he  jiroclainied  annexation.  The; 
Volksraad  which  the  people  were  promised  was  never  con- 
voked ;  the  constitution  under  which  they  were  to  enjoy 
self-government  was  never  promulgated.  There  was  no 
intention  to  break  these  promises,  but  merely  a  delay,  cul- 
pable, indeed,  but  due  to  ignorance  of  the  p«)pular  Boer 
sentiment,  and  to  the  desire  of  the  Colonial  Office  to  carry 
out  its  pet  scheme  of  South  African  confederation  before 
conceding  to  the  Transvaal  such  a  representative  assem- 
bly as  w(mld  have  had  the  i)Ower  to  reject,  on  behalf  of 
the  peoi)le,  the  schem(»  when  tendered  to  them.  Nor  were 
matters  mended  when  at  last  a  legislature  was  granted,  to 
consist  of  some  officials  and  six  members  nominated  by 
the  governor,  for  this  made  the  peoi)le  fear  that  a  genuine 
freely  elected  Volksraad  wonld  never  be  conceded  at  all. 

The  second  blunder  was  the  selection  of  the  person  who 

was  to  administer  the  country.     Sir  T.  Shepstone,  who 

knew  it  well  and  was  Uked  by  the  people,  was  replaced  by 
11 


tin 


i 


,!1 

It? 


1(S2 


IMPREaSlONS  OF   SOUTH   AFIilCA 


\% 


i: 


I ' 


a  inilitary  ofllcer  who  liad  siiown  vi^or  in  dcaliiipr  ^^^th 
a  natives  risinj^  but  was  totally  unfit  f(»r  (U'licatc  po- 
litical work.  As  rcprcsontativo  government  had  not 
yot  been  introduced,  his  a<lniinistrMtion  was  necfssarily 
iiutocratic  in  form,  and  becam*'  autocratii?  in  spirit  also. 
He  was  described  to  me  by  some  who  knew  him  as  siitT' 
in  mind  and  arroj^nmt  in  temper,  incapable  of  making' 
allowances  for  the  homelv  manners  of  the  Hoers  and  of 
adajitinir  himself  to  the  .social  (M|nality  whicii  ]»revailed 
amon^-  them.  A  trillinjjf  cause  a^'«rravated  their  dislike. 
His  complexion  was  swarthy,  and  they  suspected  that  this 
ini<i'ht  be  due  to  some  tinge  of  negro  Idood.  lie  refused 
to  listen  to  their  conn)laints,  levied  taxes  strictly,  causing 
<'ven  the  beloved  ox-wagon  to  be  seized  when  money  was 
not  forthcoming,  and  soon  turned  their  smoldering  dis- 
content into  active  disaft'ection. 

Finally  the  British  government  removed  the  two  native 
dangers  which  the  Boers  had  feared.  An  ex})editi(m  under 
Sir  Garnet  Wolseley  reduced  Sikukuui's  strongholds  and 
established  i)eace  in  the  northeast.  In  187!),  Sir  Bartle 
Prere's  war  with  Cetewayo  destroyed  the  Zulu  jjower,  the 
dread  of  which  might  have  induced  the  Boers  to  resign 
themselves  to  British  supi'emacy.  It  was  probably  ne- 
cessary to  deal  with  Sikukuni,  though  the  British  govern- 
ment seems  to  have  forgotten  its  ''  •'•mer  doubts  as  to  the 
right  of  the  Boers  to  the  territory  of  that  chief ;  but  in 
extinguishing  the  Zulu  kingdom  the  High  Commissioner 
overlooked  the  fact  that  he  was  also  extinguishing  the 
strongest  motive  which  the  republicans  had  for  remain- 
ing British  subjects.  The  British  government  were 
doublv  unfortunate.  It  was  the  annexation  of  the  Trans- 
vaal  in  1877  that  had  alarmed  Cetewayo  and  helped  to 
precipitate  the  war  of  1879.     It  was  now  the  overthrow 


I 


TIIK  EUROPEANS  IN  SOUTH  AFIlirA,  lS:)4-95         103 


of  ret«»wayo,  tlicir  foniiidiil)!*'  ciu'iiiy,  tliat  liolped  to  pre- 
cipitate a  revolt  of  the  Hoers. 

At  tliis  time,  however,  everybody  in  liritisli  South" 
Afriea,  and  nearly  everybody  in  Kn^dand,  supposed  the 
annexation  to  he  irrevoeahle.  Leadinj,'  ineniht'vs  of  the- 
pjirlianirntarv  opposition  ha«l  condemned  it.  But  whrii 
that  opposition,  victorious  in  the  <,'eneral  election  of  ISSO, 
took  oHice  in  Ai)ril  of  that  year,  the  ollh^ials  in  South 
Africa  whose  guidance  they  sought' nnide  li{?ht  of  lioer 
discontent,  and  dechired  that  it  would  he  impossihlc  now 
to  undo  what  had  heen  done  in  ISTT.  Thus  misled,  the 
new  caltinet  I'efused  to  r«'verse  the  annexation,  saying 
hy  the  mouth  of  the  iinder-secretary  for  the  colonies, 
•'  Fieri  non  thhidf,  J'drfiiin  rah.f.'^  Tiiis  decision  of  the 
l>ritish  government,  which  came  as  a  surpi'ise  upon  tiie 
I'ecalcitrant  republicans  in  the  Transvaal,  i)recipitated  an 
outbreak.  In  l>eceml)er,  18S0,  a  mass-nieetinjr  of  tho 
liocrs  was  held  at  a  i)lace  called  Taardekraal  (now  Kru- 
jrersdor])).  It  was  resolved  to  rise  in  arms ;  and  a  trium- 
virate was  elected,  c()nsistin<»'  of  ^Messrs.  M.  W.  Pretorius, 
Paul  Kru<rer,  and  Joubert,  which  i)roclaim<'d  the  rei'stab- 
lishmeiit  of  the  Soutli  African  h'epuldic  and  hoisted  tlie 
national  Hau:  t>u  Din^-aan's  day,  December  1(1.'  The 
Boers,  nearlv  everv  man  of  whom  was  accustomed  to 
fifrhtinir,  now  rose  en  inas.se  and  attacked  the  small 
detachments  of  British  troops  scattered  throu^di  the 
country,  some  of  which  were  cut  o^f,  while  the  rest  were 
obliged  to  retire  to  posts  wliU'li  they  fortified.  The 
governor  of  Natal,  Genera)  Sir  George  Colley,  raised 
what  troops  he  could  in  that  c*/loiiy,  and  marched  north- 
ward ;  but  before  he  cc^iild  reach  the  Transvaal  l)order  a 
strong  force  of  Boer^,  commanded  by  Comniandaut-Gen- 

*  See  above,  11.  121. 


iR': 


r 


■  !     . 


i  ii 


» ? 


104 


IMPRESSIONS   OF   SOUTH   AFKICA 


eral  Joubert,  crossed  it  I'nd  took  up  a  position  at  Laing's 
Nek,  a  steep  ridj^e  marking  tlie  watershed  between 
the  upper  waters  of  the  Klip  Hiver,  a  tributary  of  the 
Vaal,  and  those  of  the  Buffalo  River,  which  joins  the 
Tuj::ela  and  flows  into  the  Indian  Ocean.  Here  the  British 
general,  on  January  28,  1881,  attacked  the  Boers,  but  was 
repulsed  with  heavy  lows,  for  the  ridge  behind  which  they 
were  posted  protected  them  from  his  artillery  while 
their  accurate  rifle  fire  cut  down  his  column  as  it  mounted 
the  slope.  A  second  engagement  eleven  days  later  on  the 
Ingogo  heights  caused  severe  loss  to  the  British  troops. 
Finally,  on  the  night  of  February  26,  General  Colley,  with 
a  small  detachnient,  seized  by  night  Majuba  Hill,  a  moun- 
tain which  rises  nearly  1500  feet  above  Laing's  Nek, 
and  completely  commands  that  pass.^  Unfortunately  he 
omitted  to  direct  the  main  force,  which  he  had  left  behind 
at  his  camp,  four  miles  soutli  of  the  Nek,  to  advance 
against  the  Boers  and  occupy  their  attention ;  so  the  lat- 
ter, finding  no  movement  made  against  theni  in  front,  and 
receiving  no  artillery  fire  from  Majuba  Hill  above  them, 
checked  the  first  impulse  to  retire,  which  the  sight  of  Brit- 
ish troops  on  the  hilltop  had  produced,  and  sent  out  a 
volunteer  party  to  scale  the  hill.  Protected  by  the  steep 
declivities  from  the  fire  of  the  soldiers  above  them,  they 
made  their  way  up,  shooting  down  those  whom  they 
saw  against  the  sky-line,  and  finally  routed  the  British 
force,  killing  General  Colley,  with  ninety-two  others,  and 
taking  fifty-nine  prisoners.  B}^  this  time  fresh  troops 
were  beginning  to  arrive  in  Natal,  and  before  long 
the  British  general  who  had  succeeded  to  the  command 
had  at  his  disposal  a  force  which  the  Boers  could  not  pos- 
sibly have  resisted.  The  home  government,  however,  had 
1  A  description  of  Majuba  Hill  will  be  found  on  page  303. 


lit  a 
eep 
;liey 
hey 
tisli 
and 
oops 
lon^ 
t)d 
pos- 
had 


THE  EUIiOPP:ANS  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA,   18r)4-y5  165 

ordered  an  armistice  to  be  concluded  (March  5),  and  on 
March  28  terms  were  ap-eed  to  by  wliicli  the  "Transvaal 
State  "  (as  it  was  called)  was  again  recognized  as  a  (piasi- 
independent  })olitical  community,  to  enjoy  comi)lete  self- 
government  under  the  suzerainty  of  the  British  crown. 
These  terms  were  developed  in  a  more  formal  convention, 
signed  at  Pretoria  in  August,  ]881,  which  recognized  the 
Transvaal  as  autononuius,  subject,  however,  to  the  suze- 
rainty of  the  Queen,  to  British  control  in  matters  of  for- 
eign policy,  to  the  obligation  to  allow  British  troops  to 
pass  through  the  Republic  in  time  of  war,  and  to  guaran- 
ties for  the  protection  of  the  natives.  The  position  in 
which  the  Transvaal  thus  found  itself  placed  was  a  j>ecu- 
liar  one,  and  something  between  that  of  a  self-governing 
colony  and  an  absolutely  indei)endent  state.  The  nearest 
legal  parallel  is  to  be  found  in  the  position  of  some  of  the 
great  feudatories  of  the  British  crown  in  India,  but  the 
actual  circumstan(^es  were  of  course  too  unlike  those  of 
India  to  make  tlie  parallel  instructive. 

Few  public  acts  of  our  time  have  been  the  subjects  of 
more  prolonged  and  acrimonious  controversy  than  this 
reversal  in  1881  of  the  annexation  of  1877.  The  British 
government  were  at  the  time  accused,  both  by  the  p]nglish 
element  in  the  South  African  colonies,  and  by  their  i)olitical 
opponents  at  home,  of  an  ignominious  surrender.  They 
had,  so  it  was  urged,  given  way  to  rebellion.  They  had 
allowed  three  defeats  to  remain  unavenged.  They  had 
weakly  yielded  to  force  what  they  had  repeatedly  and 
solemnly  refused  to  peaceful  petitions.  They  had  disre- 
garded the  pledges  given  both  to  Englishmen  and  to 
natives  in  the  Transvaal.  They  had  done  all  this  for  a  race 
of  men  who  had  been  uniformly  harsh  and  unjust  to  the 
Kafirs,  who  had  brought  their  own  Republic  to  bankruptcy 

n* 


1 


til 


^>W 


H.I 


w 


r;B^^^F»Mir.  -tTTTrriM 


166 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


iWt 


"  Ik 


M 


1,1 
in 


and  cliaos  by  misgovernment,  who  were  and  would  remain 
foes  of  the  British  empire,  who  were  incapable  of  appre- 
ciating magnanimity,  and  would  construe  forbearance 
as  cowardice.  They  had  destroyed  the  prestige  of  British 
power  in  Africa  among  whites  and  blacks,  and  thereby 
sowed  for  themselves  or  their  successors  a  crop  of  future 
difficulties. 

To  these  arguments  it  was  replied  that  the  annexation 
had  been  made,  and  the  earlier  refusals  to  reverse  it  pro- 
nounced, under  a  complete  misapprehension  as  to  the  facts. 
The  representatives  of  the  Colonial  Office  in  South  Africa 
had  reported,  partly  Ihrough  insufficient  knowledge,  partly 
because  their  views  were  influenced  by  their  feelings,  that 
there  was  no  such  passion  for  independence  among  the 
Boers  as  events  had  shown  to  exist.^  Once  the  true  facts 
were  known,  did  it  not  become  not  merely  unjust  to  deprive 
the  Transvaal  people  of  the  freedom  they  prized  so  highly, 
but  also  impolitic  to  retain  by  force  those  who  v/ould  have 
been  disaffected  and  troublesome  subjects  ?  A  free  nation 
which  professes  to  be  everywhere  the  friend  of  freedom  is 
bound— so  it  was  argued— to  recognize  the  principles  it 
maintains  even  when  they  work  against  itself ;  and  if  these 
considerations  went  to  show  that  the  retrocession  of  the 
Transvaal  was  a  proper  course,  was  it  either  wise  or  hu- 
mane to  prolong  the  war  and  crush  the  Boer  resistance  at 
the  cost  of  much  slaughter,  merely  in  order  to  avenge  de- 
feats and  vindicate  a  military  superiority  which  the  im- 
mensely greater  forces  of  Britain  made  self-evident  ?  A 
great  country  is  strong  enough  to  be  magnanimous,  and 

1  Sir  B.  Frere  reported  after  meeting  the  leaders  of  the  discon- 
tented Boers  in  April,  1879,  that  the  agitation,  though  more  serious 
than  he  supposed,  was  largely  "sentimental,"  and  that  the  quieter 
people  were  being  coerced  by  the  more  violent  into  opposition. 


THE  EUROPEANS  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA,  1854-95         167 


> 


shows  her  greatness  better  by  justice  aud  lenity  than  by 
a  sanguinary  revenge.  These  moral  arguments,  which 
affect  different  minds  differentlj',  were  reinforced  by  a 
strong  ground  of  policy.  The  Boers  of  the  Orange  Free 
State  had  sympathized  warmly  with  their  kinsfolk  in 
the  Transvaal,  aud  were  with  difficulty  kept  from  cross- 
ing the  border  to  join  them.  The  president  of  the  Free 
State,  a  sagacious  man,  anxious  to  secure  peace,  had  made 
himself  prominent  as  a  mediator,  but  it  was  not  certain 
that  his  citizens  might  not,  even  against  his  advice,  join 
in  the  fighting.  Among  the  Africander  Dutch  of  Cape 
Colony  and  Natal  the  feeling  for  the  Transvaal  Boers  was 
hardly  less  strong,  and  the  accentuation  of  Dutch  senti- 
ment, caused  by  the  events  of  1880  and  1881,  has  ever 
since  been  a  potent  factor  in  the  politics  of  Cape  Colony. 
The  British  government  were  advised  from  the  Cape  that 
the  invasion  of  the  Transvaal  might  probably  light  up 
a  civil  war  through  the  two  colonies.  The  power  of 
Great  Britain  would  of  course  have  prevailed,  even 
against  the  whole  Dutch-speaking  population  of  South 
Africa;  but  it  would  have  prevailed  only  after  much 
bloodshed,  and  at  the  cost  of  an  intense  embitterment 
of  feeling,  which  would  have  destroyed  the  prospects 
of  the  peace  and  welfare  of  the  two  colonies  for  many 
years  to  come.  The  loss  of  the  Transvaal  seemed  a 
slight  evil  in  comparison. 

Whether  such  a  race  conflict  would  in  fact  have  broken 
out  all  over  South  Africa  is  a  question  on  which  opinion 
is  still  divided,  and  about  which  men  may  dispute  forever. 
The  British  government,  however,  deemed  the  risk  of  it  a 
real  one,  and  by  that  view  their  action  was  mainly  gov- 
erned. After  careful  inquiries  from  those  best  qualified 
to  judge,  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  they  were  right. 


-«»— T^r 


168 


IMPRT<1SSI()NS   OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


'if' 

1     ; 


It  must,  liowever,  be  admitted  tliat  the  event  belied 
some  of  their  hopes.  Tliey  liad  expected  that  the  Trans- 
vaal people  would  appreciate  the  generosity  of  the  ret- 
rocession, as  well  as  the  humanity  which  was  willing 
to  forego  vengeance  for  the  tarnished  luster  of  British 
arms.  The  Boers,  however,  saw  neither  generosity  nor 
humanitv  in  their  conduct,  but  onlv  fear.  Jubilant 
ovei'  thitiv  victories,  and  (like  the  Kafirs  in  the  south 
coast  Wiirs)  not  realizing  the  overwhelming  force  whicl) 
could  have  been  brought  against  them,  they  fancied 
themselves  entitled  to  add  some  measure  of  contempt  to 
the  dislike  they  already  cherished  to  the  English,  and  they 
have  ever  since  shown  themselves  unpleasant  neighbors. 
The  English  in  South  Africa,  on  their  part,  have  con- 
tinued to  resent  tlie  concession  of  independence  to  the 
Transvaal,  and  es})ecially  the  method  in  which  it  was 
conceded.  Those  who  had  recently  settled  in  the  Re- 
public, relying  on  the  declarations  repeatedly  made 
that  it  would  forever  remain  British,  complained  that 
no  proper  compensation  was  made  to  them,  and  that 
they  had  much  to  suffer  from  the  Boers.  Those  who  live 
in  the  two  colonies  hold  that  the  disgrace  (as  they  term 
it)  of  Majuba  Hill  ought  to  have  been  wiped  out  by  a 
march  to  Pretoria,  and  that  the  Boers  should  have  been 
made  to  recognize  that  Britain  is,  and  will  remain,  the 
paramount  power  in  fact  as  well  as  in  name.  They  feel 
aggrieved  to  this  day  that  the  terms  of  peace  were  settled 
at  Laing's  Nek,  within  the  territory  of  Natal,  while  it  was 
still  held  by  the  Boers.  Even  in  Cape  Colony,  where  the 
feeling  is  perhaps  less  strong  than  it  is  in  Natal,  the 
average  Englishman  has  neither  forgotten  nor  forgiven 
the  events  of  1881. 

I  have  dwelt  fully  upon  these  events  because  they  are, 


THE  EUROPEANS  IN  SOUTH  AFKICA,   1854-95         IfiO 

next  to  the  Great  Trek  of  183(5,  tlie  most  important  in  the 
internal  liistory  of  South  Africa,  and  tliose  wliicli  have 
most  materially  affected  the  present  ])olitical  situation. 
The  few  vears  that  followed  may  be  more  brietl  v  dismissed. 
The  Transvaal  State  emerged  from  its  war  of  indej)en(l- 
ence  penniless  and  unorganized,  hut  with  a  redoubled 
sense  of  tlivine  favor  and  a  reinvigorated  consciousness  of 
national  life.  The  old  constitution  was  set  to  work ;  the 
Volksraad  again  met ;  Mr.  Stephen  John  Paul  Kruger,  who 
had  been  the  leading  figure  in  the  triumvir.ite,  was  chosen 
by  the  peop^>  to  be  president,  and  has  subsequently  been 
thrice  reelected  to  that  office.  Undismayed  by  tlu'  scanti- 
ness  of  his  state  resources,  he  formed  bold  and  far-i-cMoliing 
plans  of  advance  on  the  three  sides  which  lay  open  t<>  liim. 
To  the  noi  th  a  trek  was  projected,  and  some  years  later  was 
nearly  carried  out,  for  the  occupation  of  Mashonaland.  To 
the  south  bands  of  Boer  adventurers  entered  Zululaiid,  the 
first  of  them  as  trekkers,  the  rest  as  auxiliaries  to  one  of 
the  native  chiefs,  who  were  at  war  with  one  another.  These 
adventurers  established  a  sort  of  repuVdic  in  the  northern 
districts,  and  would  probably  have  seized  the  whole 
had  not  the  British  government  at  last  interfered  and 
confined  them  to  a  teiritory  of  nearly  three  thousand 
square  miles,  which  was  recognized  in  188G  under  the  name 
of  the  New  Republic,  and  which  in  1888  merged  itself 
in  the  Transvaal.  To  the  west,  other  bands  of  Boer  raid- 
ers entered  Bechuanaland,  seized  land  or  obtained  grants 
of  land  by  the  usual  devices,  required  the  chiefs  to  acknow- 
ledge their  supremacy,  and  proceeded  to  establish  two  petty 
republics,  one  called  Stellaland,  round  the  village  of  Vry- 
burg,  north  of  Kimberley,  and  the  other,  farther  noith, 
called  Goshen.  These  violent  p»:oceedings,  which  were 
not  only  injurious  to  the  natives,  but  were  obviously  part 


Ml 


.  -  ; 


i' 


'iS 


H 


■'  M 


■  ' 


1  II 


i 


170 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


of  a  plan  to  add  Beclmanalaiid  to  the  Transvaal  territories, 
and  close  against  the  English  the  path  to  those  northern 
regions  in  which  Britain  was  already  interested,  roused  the 
British  government.  In  the  end  of  1884  an  expedition  led 
by  Sir  Charles  Warren  entered  Bechuanaland.  TI13  free- 
booters of  the  two  republics  retired  before  it,  and  the 
districts  they  had  occupied  were  erected  into  a  Crown 
Colony  under  the  name  of  British  Bechuanaland.  In 
1895  this  teriitory  was  annexed  to  Cape  Colony.  In  order  to 
prevent  the  Boers  from  playing  the  same  game  in  the  coun- 
try still  farther  north,  where  their  aggressions  had  so  far 
back  as  1876  led  Khama,  chief  of  the  Bamangwato,  to  ask 
for  British  protection,  a  British  protectorate  was  pro- 
claimed (March,  1885)  over  the  whole  country  as  far  as  the 
borders  of  Matabililand ;  and  a  few  years  later,  in  1888,  a 
treaty  was  concluded  with  Lo  Bengula,  the  Matabili  king, 
whereby  he  undertook  not  to  cede  territory  to,  or  make 
a  treaty  with,  any  foreign  power  without  the  consent  of 
the  British  High  Commissioner.  The  west  was  thus 
secured  against  the  further  advance  of  the  Boers,  while  on 
the  eastern  shore  the  hoisting  of  the  British  flag  at  St.  Lucia 
Bay  in  1884  (a  spot  already  ceded  by  Panda  in  1843),  fol- 
lowed by  the  conclusion  (in  1887)  of  a  treaty  with  the 
Tonga  chiefs,  by  which  they  undertook  not  to  make  any 
treaty  with  any  other  power,  announced  the  resolution 
of  the  British  crown  to  hold  the  coast  line  up  to  the  Por- 
tuguese territories. 

This  policy  of  preventing  the  extension  of  Boer  domin- 
ion over  the  natives  was,  however,  accompanied  by  a 
willingness  to  oblige  the  Transvaal  people  in  other  ways. 
Though  they  had  not  observed  the  conditions  of  the  con- 
vention of  1881,  the  Boers  had  continued  to  importune 
the  British  government  for  an  ampler  measure  of  inde- 


THE  EUROPEANS  IN  SOUTH  AP'RICA,    1854-95     171 


pendence.  In  1884  they  succeeded  iu  iiidueiug  Lord 
Derby,  then  Colonial  Secretary,  to  agree  to  a  uew  couven- 
tiou.  It  is  the  basis  of  the  present  rehitions  between  the 
British  crown  and  tlie  South  Af I'ican  Republic,  a  title  now 
at  last  formally  conceded.  By  this  instrument  (called 
the  Convention  of  London),  wliose  articles  were  sub- 
stituted for  the  articles  of  the  convention  of  1881,  the  con- 
trol of  foreign  policy  stipulated  for  in  the  Pretoria  Conven- 
tion of  1881  was  cut  down  to  a  provision  that  the  Republic 
should  '^  conclude  no  treaty  with  any  state  or  nation  other 
than  the  Orange  Free  State,  nor  with  any  native  tribe  to 
the  eastward  or  westward  of  the  Republic,"  without  the 
approval  of  the  Queen.  The  declarations  of  the  two  pre- 
vious conventions  (of  1852  and  1881)  against  slavery  were 
repeated,  and  there  was  a  "  most  favored  nation  "  clause 
with  provisions  for  the  good  treatment  of  strangers  en- 
tering the  Republic.  Nothing  was  said  as  to  the  "  suze- 
rainty of  Her  Majesty"  mentioned  in  tlie  convention  of 
1881.  The  Boers  have  contended  that  this  omission  is 
equivalent  to  a  renunciation,  but  to  this  it  has  been  (among 
other  things)  replied  that  as  that  suzerainty  was  recog- 
nized not  in  the  "articles"  of  the  instrument  of  1881, but 
in  its  introductory  paragraph,  it  has  not  been  renounced, 
and  still  subsists. 

A  few  years  later,  the  amity  which  this  convention  was 
meant  to  secure  was  endangered  by  the  plan  formed  by  a 
body  of  Boer  farmers  and  adventurers  to  carry  out  the 
idea  previously  formed  by  Mr.  Kruger,  and  trek  north- 
ward into  the  country  beyond  the  Limpopo  River,  a  coun- 
try where  t^e  natives  were  feeble  and  disunited,  raided  on 
one  side  by  the  Matabili  and  on  the  other  by  Gungunhana. 
This  trek  would  have  brought  the  emigrants  into  collision 
with  the  English  settlers  who  had  shortly  before  entered 


'i::l 


I  'l 


tl  '11 
il 


m 


172 


IMI'UESSIONS   OP   SOI'TII   AFRICA 


■\: 


I 

•II 


Maslionalaiid.  rrosideut  Kriiger,  however,  beinj;  pressed 
by  the  imperial  g^overnineiit,  undertook  to  cheek  the  niove- 
lueiit,  aud  so  far  sueeeeded  that  tlie  wagons  wliich  crossed 
the  Limpopo  were  but  few  aud  were  easily  turued  back. 
Prevented  from  expanding  to  the  north,  tlie  Boers  were 
Jill  the  more  eager  to  aci^uire  Swaziland,  a  small  but  rieh 
territory  which  lies  to  the  east  of  their  Republic,  and  is 
inhabited  by  a  warlike  Kafir  race,  numljering  about 
70,000,  near  of  kin  to  the  Zulus,  but  for  man^'  vears 
hostile  to  them.  Both  the  Boers  and  Cetewayo  had 
foi-merly  claimed  supremacy  over  this  region.  The  Brit- 
ish government  had  never  admitted  the  Boer  claim,  but 
when  the  head  chief  of  the  Swazis  had,  by  a  series  of  im- 
])rovident  concessions,  granted  away  to  adventurers,  most 
of  them  Boers,  nearly  all  the  best  land  and  minerals  the 
country  contained,  it  was  found  extremely  difficult  to  con- 
tinue the  system  of  joint  administration  by  the  High  Com- 
missioner and  the  Transvaal  government  which  had  been 
l)rovisionally  established,  and  all  the  more  difficult  because 
by  the  concession  to  the  New  Republic  (which  had  by  this 
time  become  incorporated  with  the  Transvaal)  of  the  part 
of  Zululand  which  adjoined  Swaziland,  direct  communica- 
tion between  Natal  and  Swaziland  had  become  difficult, 
especially  in  the  nuilarious  season.  Accordingly,  after 
long  negotiations,  an  arrangement  was  concluded,  in 
1894,  which  placed  the  Swazi  nation  and  territory  under 
the  control  of  the  South  African  Republic,  subject  to 
full  guaranties  for  the  protection  of  the  luitives,  A  pre- 
vious convention  (of  1890)  had  given  the  South  African 
Republic  certain  rights  of  making  a  railway  to  the  coast 
at  Kosi  Bay  through  the  low  and  malarious  region  which 
lies  between  Swaziland  and  the  sea,  and  the  earlier  nego- 
tiations had  proceeded  on  the  assumption  that  these  rights 


Mm-    i 


THE   EUHOI'KANS    IN   SOUTH   AFRICA,    l<-)4-!».->      17: 


rhts 


wore  to  1h'  juljusti'il  and  reueweil  in  tlie  sanu'  iiistnuuont 
which  was  destined  to  setth'  tlie  Svvazihmd  (lucstion. 
The  B(>  'V  jj^overnnient,  however,  ultimately  declined  to 
include  s  \ch  an  adjustment  in  the  new  e<mvention,  and  as 
this  new  convention  superseded  and  extin«;uislied  the 
former  (me  of  1S!)0,  those  provisions  for  access  ti)  the  sea 
necessarily  lai)sed.  The  lii'itish  {^overnnu-nt  promptly 
availed  itself  of  thi^  fi'cedom  its  rivals  had  thus  teniU'red 
to  it,  and  with  the  consent  of  the  three  chiefs  (of  Tonjja 
race)  who  rule  in  the  re«j;:i()n  referred  to,  proclaimed  a 
protectorate  over  the  strip  of  land  which  lies  betw»'en 
Swaziland  and  the  sea,  as  far  north  as  the  frontiers  of 
Portuifuese  territorv.  Thus  the  door  has  been  tinallv 
closed  on  the  schemes  which  the  Boers  have  so  often 
formed  and  tried  to  carry  out  for  the  accpusition  of  a 
railwav  communication  with  the  coast  entirelv  under  their 
own  control.  It  was  an  object  unfavorable  to  the  inter- 
ests of  the  paramount  power,  for  it  would  not  only  'lave 
disturbed  the  commercial  relations  of  the  interioi'  witli 
the  British  coast  j)orts,  but  would  also  have  favored  the 
wish  of  the  Boer  government  to  establish  iK)liti{'al  ties 
with  other  European  i)Owers.  T)ie  accomplishment  of 
that  design  was  no  doubt  subjected  by  the  London  con- 
vention of  1884  to  the  veto  of  Bi  itain.  But  in  diplomacy 
facts  as  well  as  treaties  have  their  force,  and  a  Power 
which  has  a  seaport,  and  can  ily  a  flr^g  ori  the  occum,  is  in 
a  verj'  different  position  from  one  cut  off  by  intervening 
territories  from  those  vliose  support  it  is  supposed  to 
seek.  Thus  the  establishment  of  the  ])rotectorate  over 
these  petty  Tonga  chiefs  may  be  justly  deemed  one  of 
the  most  important  events  in  recent  South  African  his- 
tory. 

Down  to  1884  Great  Britain  and  Portugal  had  been  the 


I 


174 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


,tl 


I 


only  European  powers  established  in  South  Africa.  For 
some  time  before  that  vear  there  had  been  German  mission 
stations  in  parts  of  the  rejj^ion  whieh  lies  between  the 
Orange  River  and  the  West  Afriean  possessions  of  Portu- 
p:al,  and  in  18H;{  u  Bremen  merehant  named  Liideritz 
established  a  tradini^-faetory  at  the  bay  of  Anjjjra  Pecpicfia, 
whieh  lies  on  th(^  Atlantic;  coast  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  north  of  the  nu)uth  of  that  river,  and  obtained 
from  a  nei<,diboring  chief  a  cession  of  a  piece  of  territory 
there,  which  the  Gernum  jj^overnment  a  few  months  later 
recognized  as  a  German  colony.  Five  years  earlier,  in 
1878,  Walflsh  Bay,  which  lies  farther  north,  and  is  the 
best  haven  (or  rather  roadstead)  on  the  coast,  had  been  an- 
nexed to  Cape  Colony ;  but  though  it  was  generally  under- 
stood, both  in  the  Colony  and  in  England,  that  the  whole  of 
the  west  coast  up  to  the  Portuguese  boundary  was  in  some 
vague  way  subject  to  British  influence,  nothing  had  been 
done  to  claim  any  distinct  right,  much  less  to  perfect  that 
right  by  occupation.  The  Colony  had  always  declined  or 
omitted  to  vote  money  for  the  purpose,  and  the  home 
government  had  not  cared  to  spend  any.  When  the  colo- 
nists knew  that  Germany  was  really  establishing  herself 
as  their  neighbor  on  the  north,  they  were  much  annoyed ; 
but  it  was  now  too  late  to  resist,  and  in  1884,  after  a 
long  correspondence,  not  creditable  to  the  foresight  or 
promptitude  of  the  late  Lord  Derby,  who  was  then  Colo- 
nial Secretary,  the  protectorate  of  Germany  was  formally 
recognized,  wdiile  in  1890  the  boundaries  of  the  German 
and  British  "spheres  of  influence"  farther  north  were 
defined,  by  a  formal  agreement — the  same  agreement  which 
settled  the  respective  "spheres  of  influence"  of  the  two 
powers  in  eastern  Africa,  between  the  Zambesi  and  the 
Upper  Nile.    Although  the  people  of  Cape  Colony  continue 


11 


THE   EUROPEANS  IN   SOUTH  AFUICA,    1854-U5     176 


to  ox])rosa  tlunr  reprct  at  linviii}?  a  ^vcat  Eur<)])oan  power 
contt'i'iuinous  with  tlu-m  on  the  north,  there  hiis  been 
really  litMe  or  no  practical  contact  between  tlie  Ucrnians 
and  the  colonists,  for  while  the  northern  part  of  the  Col- 
ony, lyinj^  alonj^  the  lower  conrse  of  the  Orange  Hiver,  is 
so  arid  as  to  l)e  very  thinly  peopled,  the  southern  i»art  of 
the  (jrernian  territory,  called  (ireat  Xanmciualand,  is  nearly 
all  desert,  and  inhalnted  only  oy  wandering  Hottentots, 
while,  to  thi3  west,  Naina(pialand  is  separated  from  the 
hal)ital)l(!  parts  of  British  Bechuanaland  by  the  great 
Kalahari  Desert. 

The  new  impulse  for  coh)nial  expansicm  wliich  had 
l»roinpted  the  Germans  to  occui)y  Damai-aland  and  the 
Cameroons  on  the  western,  and  the  Zanzibar  coasts  on  the 
eastern,  side  of  Africa  was  now  telling  on  other  Euroju-an 
[towers,  and  made  them  all  join  in  the  s(M'amble  for  Africa, 
a  continent  which  a  few  vears  before  had  ))een  deemed 
worthless.  Italy  and  France  entered  the  field  in  the  north- 
east, France  in  the  northwest,  and  Britain,  which  had  in 
earlier  days  moved  with  such  slow  and  wavering  steps  in 
the  far  south,  was  roused  by  the  comi)etition  to  a  swifter 
advance.  Within  nine  years  from  the  assumption  of  the 
l)rotect()rate  over  British  Bechuanaland,  which  the  action 
of  the  Boers  had  brought  about  in  1885,  the  whole  un- 
appropriated country,  up  to  the  iambesi,  came  under 
British  control. 

In  1888  a  treaty  made  with  Lo  Bengula  extended  the 
ransjre  of  British  influence  and  claim  not  onlv  over  ]Mata- 
bililand  proper,  but  over  Mashonaland  and  an  undefined 
territory  to  the  eastward  '>ver  which  Lo  Bengula  claimed  to 
be  suzerain.  Next  came,  in  1889,  the  gi*ant  of  a  royal 
charter  to  a  company,  known  as  the  British  South  A.^rica 
Company,  which  had  been  formed  to  develop  this  eastern 


IS] 


111 


17U 


IMl'UKhblUNb  OF   bUUTJi   Al-lilCA 


:it 


I     ! 


side  of  Lo  Beu^iila's  dumituoii,  and  to  work  tlio  j^old-raiiiea 
b('liev<'d  to  t'xist  tlu'jv,  an  undertaking  cliiclly  due  to  the 
hold  and  forceful  spirit  of  Mr.  Cecil  Kliodes,  wiio  perceived 
that  if  Britain  did  not  spetjdily  estaldisli  some  right  to  the 
country,  the  Transvaal  Hocrs  woidd  trek  in  and  acquire  it. 
In  181)0  tlie  pioneer  British  settlers  moved  up  through  Bech- 
nanaland  into  Mashonaland,  and  the  Company,  whiei ,  like 
the  East  India  Company  of  the  eighteenth  century,  was  to 
be  a  ruling  and  administering  power  as  well  as  a  trading 
association,  estahlislied  itself  along  the  eastern  part  of  the 
great  i)lateau  and  began  to  build  forts.  Here  it  came 
into  collision  with  the  Portugm^se,  who,  stimulated  by  tlie 
activity  of  other  mitions,  had  ))een  reasserting  their  dor- 
mant claims  to  the  interiiir  and  sending  up  expeditions 
to  occupy  the  country.  A  skirmisli  which  occurred  near 
Massikessi,  iu  Manicaland,  ended  in  the  repulse  of  the 
I'ortuguese  and  the  capture  of  their  commanders,  who 
were,  however,  soon  after  released  by  Dr.  Jameson,  the 
newly  ai)pointed  administrator  of  the  Company ;  and  an- 
other conflict  in  May,  1891,  in  which  the  Portuguese 
again  suffered  severely,  hastened  the  (jonclusiou  of  a  treaty 
(June,  1891)  between  Great  Britain  and  Portugal,  l)y 
which  the  boundary  between  the  Portuguese  territories 
and  those  included  in  the  British  "sphere  of  influence" 
was  fixed.  By  this  treaty  a  vast  region  in  the  interior 
which  lies  along  the  Upper  Zambesi  west  of  Portuguese 
territory  and  south  of  the  Congo  Free  State  was  recog- 
nized by  Portugal  as  within  the  British  sphere.  An 
agreement  of  the  preceding  year  between  Germany  and 
Great  Britain  (July  1, 1890)  had  defined  the  limits  of  Ger- 
num  and  British  influence  on  the  east  side  oi  the  continent ; 
and  as  Germany,  Portugal,  and  the  Congo  State  were  the 


THE   KURvJI'KANS   IN   MOUTH   AFUICA,    1854-9.-)     177 


only  (!ivilizt'(l  powers  contorminous  with  Great  Britain  in 
this  part  of  the  vvorKl,  these  treaties,  top'tlu'r  with  the 
instruiiicnt  — to  whi<'li  (irrat  Britain  Inul  heeu  a  party  — 
tiiat  (Iftci'inined  the  limits  of  the  C'on^'o  Statu,  settled 
finally  all  these  (piestions  of  the  interior,  and  gave  to 
(treat  Britain  a  h'gal  title  to  her  share  of  it. 

That  title,  how«'ver.  like  tlu'  other  titles  by  which  the 
Enropi'an  powers  hold  their  new  Afriean  possessions,  was 
a  paper  title,  and  valid  only  as  a^iinst  other  nci^dihorinj; 
European  j)owers.  It  had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with 
the  Kafir  tribes  who  dwelt  in  the  country.  What  are 
called  the  rights  of  a  civilized  Bower  as  against  the  natives 
rest  in  soni«'  cases  upon  treaties  made  with  the  chiefs, 
treaties  of  whose  effect  it  may  be  feared  that  the  chiefs 
an'  often  ignorant;  and  in  others  (m  the  mere  will  of 
the  KurojK'an  Bower  which  proclaims  to  the  worhl  that  it 
daims  the  country ;  and  it  is  held  that  the  Bower  which 
makes  the  claim  must,  at  h'ast  in  the  latter  class  of  cases, 
perfect  its  claim  by  actual  occupation.  In  the  case  of  these 
new  British  territories  treaties  were  nuule  with  a  certain 
number  of  chiefs.  One  already  existed  with  Lo  Bengula, 
king  of  the  Matabili ;  but  it  merely  bound  him  not  to 
league  himself  with  any  other  power,  and  did  not  make 
him  a  British  vassal.  It  was  clear,  however,  that  with  so 
restless  and  warlike  a  race  as  tht^  Matabili  this  state  of 
things  could  not  last  long.  Lo  Bengula  had  been  annoyed 
at  the  march  of  the  pioneers  into  Mashonaland,  and  tried 
to  stop  them,  but  was  foiled  by  tlu^  swiftness  of  their 
movements.  Once  thev  were  established  there  he  seems 
to  have  desired  to  keep  the  j)eaee ;  but  his  young  warriors 
would  not  suffer  him  to  do  so.  They  had  been  accustonunl 
to  raids  among  the  feeble  and  disunited  Mashonas,  whom 
la 


I 


fl    li  — I, 


178 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


th 


f'  '   ■ 

I 

■   -it 


' 


tliey  slaii^literotl  and  plundered  to  tlieir  hearts'  eontent. 
When  tliey  found  tlie  Company  disposed  to  protect  these 
\d(;tinis,  collisions  o(*cun*ed,  and  any  reluctance  to  fight 
which  Lo  Bengula  may  have  felt,  and  probably  did  feel, 
counted  for  nothing.  What  he  could  do,  he  did  :  he  pro- 
tected with  ijrupulous  care  not  only  the  missionaries,  but 
other  Europeans,  at  his  kraal,  and,  after  the  war  had 
broken  out,  he  sent  envoys  to  treat,  two  of  whom,  by  a 
deplorable  mistake,  were  killed  by  the  advancing  column 
of  Bechuanaland  iinperial  police,  for  as  the  Company's 
officers  were  not  at  the  moment  prepared,  either  in  money 
or  in  men,  for  a  conflict,  the  Im]>erial  Government  sent  a 
force  northward  from  Bechuanaland  to  cooperate  with 
that  whicli  the  Company  had  in  Mashonaland.  A  raid  by 
Mntabili  warriors  on  the  Mashonas  living  near  Fort  Vic- 
toria, whom  they  called  their  slaves,  i)re(npitated  hostilities 
(July  to  October,  1893).  The  Matabili,  whose  vain  con- 
fidence in  their  own  prowess  led  them  to  attack  in  the 
open  when  they  ought  to  have  resorted  to  bush  fighting, 
were  defeated  in  two  battles  by  the  Comj)any's  men.  Lo 
Bengula  fled  toward  the  Zambesi  and  died  there  (Jan- 
uary, 1894)  of  fever  and  despair,  as  Shere  Ali  Khaii  had 
died  when  chased  out  of  Kabul  bv  the  British  in  1878 : 
while  his  indunas  r.nd  the  bulk  of  the  Matabili  jieople 
submitted  with  little  further  resistance.  Matabililand 
was  now  occupied  by  the  Company,  which  shortly  after- 
ward took  possession  of  the  northern  part  of  its  sphere 
of  operations  by  running  a  telegraph-wire  across  the 
Zambesi  and  by  placing  officers  on  the  shore  of  Lake 
Tanganyika.  In  March,  189G,  the  Matabili  and  some 
of  the  Mashona  chiefs  revolted,  but  after  five  months' 
fighting,  in  which  many  lives  were  lost,  peace  was  restored, 
and  the  rapid  progress  of  two  railways  into  the  heart  of 


THE  EUROPEANS  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA,   1854-95     179 


after- 
splieve 


the  country  of  these  tribes  gives  a  great,  if  not  complete, 
security  against  a  renewal  of  like  trtubles.^ 

By  the  establishment  of  the  Britisli  South  Africa  Com- 
pany to  the  north  of  the  Transvaal  that  state  had  now 
become  inclosed  in  British  territory  on  every  side  except 
the  east ;  nor  could  it  advance  eastward,  because  Portu- 
gal was  bound  by  the  Arbitration  Treaty  of  1872  to  jdlow 
Great  Britain  a  right  of  preemption  over  her  dominions. 
Meantime  new  forces  had  begun  to  work  within  the  Ke- 
public.  Between  1867  and  1872  gold  had  been  found  in 
several  places  on  the  eastern  side  of  tlie  ctountry,  but  in 
quantities  so  small  that  no  one  attached  much  imi)ortance 
to  the  discovery.  After  1 882,  however,  it  began  to  be  })retty 
largely  worked.  In  1885  the  conglomerate  or  banket  beds 
of  the  Witwatersrand  were  discovered,  and  the  influx  of 
strangers,  which  had  been  considerable  from  1882  onward, 
increased  immenselv  till  in  1895  the  number  of  recent 
immigrants,  most  of  whom  were  adult  males,  had  risen  to 
a  number  largely  exceeding  that  of  the  wliole  Boer  popu- 
lation, including  women  and  children.  Although  the  first 
result  of  the  working  of  the  gold-mines  and  the  growth  of 
the  towns  had  been  to  swell  the  revenues  of  the  previously 
impecunious  Republic,  President  Kruger  jind  the  Boers 
generally  Avcre  alarmed  at  seeing  a  tide  of  aliens  from  the 
colonies  and  Europe  and  the  United  States,  most  of  them 
Britisli  subjects,  and  nearly  all  speaking  English,  rise  \\\) 
around  and  threaten  to  submerge  them.  They  proceeded 
to  defend  themselves  by  restricting  the  electoral  franchise 
which  had  theretofore  been  easily  accpiirable  by  immi- 
grants. Laws  were  passed  which,  by  excluding  the  new- 
comers, kept  the  native  Br>er  element  in  a  safe  majority, 
and  even  when  in  1890  a  cou(;ession  was  made  by  the 
1  See  further  as  to  this  rising  some  remarks  in  Chapter  XV. 


i'i'. 


J<; 


180 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


Hfl' 


rf  . 


f     I- 


creation  of  a  second  legislative  chamber,  based  on  a  more 
extended  franchise,  its  powers  were  carefully  restricted, 
and  the  election  not  only  of  the  First  Kaad  (the  principal 
chamber),  but  also  of  the  president  and  executive  council, 
remained  confined  to  those  who  had  full  citizenship 
under  the  previous  statutes.  Discontent  spread  among 
the  newcomers,  who  complained  both  of  theu*  exclusion 
from  political  rights  and  of  various  grievances  which  they 
and  the  mining  industry  suffered  at  the  hands  of  the 
government.  A  reform  association  was  formed  in  1892. 
In  1894  the  visit  of  the  British  High  Commissioner,  who 
had  (!ome  from  the  Cape  to  negotiate  with  the  President 
about  Swaziland,  led  to  a  vehement  pro-British  and  anti- 
Boer  demonstration  at  Pretoria;  while  feeling  ran  high 
in  the  Rand  mining  district  among  the  immigrant  popula- 
tion. Finally,  in  December,  1895,  a  rising  took  place  at 
Joliannesburg,  the  circumstances  attending  wliich  may 
be  set  forth  in  the  briefest  way,  for  the  uncontroverted 
facts  are  fresh  in  every  one's  recollection,  while  an  at- 
tempt to  discuss  the  controverted  ones  would  lead  me 
from  the  field  of  history  into  that  of  contemporary  poli- 
tics.^ It  is  enough  to  say  while  a  large  section  of  the 
Uitlanders  (as  the  new  alien  immigrants  are  called)  in  Jo- 
hannesburg were  preparing  to  press  their  claims  for  re- 
forms upon  the  government,  and  to  provide  themselves 
with  arms  for  that  purpose,  an  outbreak  was  precipitated 
by  the  entry  into  Transvaal  territory  from  Pitsani  in 
Bechuanaland   of  a  force   of  about  five  hundred  men, 

1  The  salient  facts  may  be  found  in  the  evidence  taken  by  the 
committee  of  inquiry  appointed  by  the  Cape  Assembly  in  1896.  The 
much  more  copious  evidence  taken  by  a  select  committee  of  the 
British  House  of  Commons  in  1897  adds  comparatively  little  of  im- 
portance to  wliat  the  Cape  committee  had  ascertained. 


W 


^\ 


THE   EUKOPEANS  IN   SOUTH   AFKICA,    1854-95      181 


mostly  in  tlie  service  of  the  British  South  Africa  Com- 
pany as  police,  and  led  by  the  Company's  Administrator, 
with  whom  (and  with  ]Mr.  Rhodes,  the  manaf]:ing  director 
of  the  Company)  a  prior  arrangement  had  been  made  by 
the  reform  leaders,  that  in  case  of  trouble  at  Johannes- 
burg he  should,  if  summoned,  come  to  the  aid  of  the 
Uitlander  movement.  A  question  as  to  the  flag  under 
which  the  movement  was  to  be  made  caused  a  i)ostpone- 
ment  of  the  day  previously  fixed  for  making  it.  The 
leaders  of  the  force  at  Pitsani,  however,  became  impatient, 
thinking  that  the  Boer  government  was  beginning  to  sus- 
pect their  intentions ;  and  thus,  though  requested  to  re- 
main quiet,  the  force  started  on  the  evening  of  December 
29.  Had  they  been  able,  as  they  expected,  to  get  through 
without  fighting,  they  might  i)robably  have  reached 
Johannesburg  in  three  or  four  days'  march,  for  the  dis- 
tance is  only  one  hundred  and  seventy  miles.  But  while 
the  High  Commissioner  issued  a  j^'oclamation  disavowing 
their  action  and  ordering  them  to  retire,  they  found  them- 
selves opposed  by  the  now  rapidly  gathering  Boer  levies, 
were  repulsed  at  Krugersdorp,  and  ultimately  forced  to 
surrender  on  the  forenoon  of  January  1,  1S96,  at  a  place 
called  Doornkop.  The  Johannesburg  Uitlanders,  wlio, 
though  unprepared  for  any  sucli  sudden  movement,  had 
risen  in  sympathy  at  the  news  of  the  inroad,  laid  dov^n 
their  arms  a  few  days  later.' 

I  have  given  the  bare  outline  of  these  latest  events  in 


.'    *T 


n    )" 


^  Of  the  many  accounts  of  the  incidents  that  led  to  this  risinf? 
which  have  appeared,  the  clearest  and  one  of  the  fairest  I  have  met 
with  is  contained  in  the  book  of  M.  Merraeix,  "La  Revolution  de 
Johannesburg,"  while  the  simplest  and  one  of  the  most  graphic  is 
that  given  by  an  American  lady  (Mrs.  J.  H.  Hammond),  in  her  little 
book  entitled  "A  Woman's  Part  in  a  Revolution." 

12* 


I 


182 


IMPRESSIONS   OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


South  African  liistorv  for  the  sake  of  hrinnfiiijnr  the  narra- 
tive down  to  tlie  date  wh<»n  I  ])e«?an  to  write.  But  as  I 
was  at  Pretoria  and  Joliannesburff  immediately  before  the 
risin«j!;  of  Deeember,  1895,  took  })hu.'e,  and  liad  ^ood  oppor- 
tunities of  seeing  what  forces  were  at  work,  and  in  what 
direction  tlie  currents  of  opinion  were  settinjj^,  I  propose 
to  jjfive  in  a  subsecpient  cliapter  a  somewhat  fuller  de- 
scription of  the  state  of  tliinij;s  in  the  Transvaal  at  the  end 
of  1895,  and  to  reserve  for  a  still  later  chapter  some  general 
reflections  on  the  coui'se  of  South  African  history. 


■'  ii 


}. 


Part  III  —  A  Jouiiney  through  South  xVfrica 


CHAPTER  XIII 


TRAVELING  AND  COMMUNICATIONS 


THERE  is  nothing  one  wants  more  to  know  about  a 
country,  and  especially  a  new  country,  than  how  one 
can  travel  through  it.  There  was  nothing  about  which, 
when  contemplating  a  journey  to  South  Africa,  I  found  it 
more  difficult  to  get  proper  information  in  En'gland ;  so  I 
hope  that  a  few  facts  and  Iiints  will  be  useful  to  those  who 
mean  to  make  the  tour,  while  to  others  they  may  serve  to 
give  a  notion  of  the  conditions  which  help  or  obstruct  in- 
ternal communication. 

First,  as  to  coast  travel.  There  is  no  line  of  railway 
running  along  the  coast,  partly  because  the  towns  are  small, 
as  well  as  few  and  far  between,  partly  because  the  physical 
difficulties  of  constructing  a  railway  across  the  ridges 
which  run  down  to  the  sea  are  considerablif  but  chiefly, 
no  doubt,  because  the  coasting-steamers  are  able  to  do  what 
is  needed.  The  large  vessels  of  the  Castle  Line  and  the 
Union  Line  run  once  a  week  between  Cape  Town  and 
Durban  (the  port  of  Natal),  calling  at  Port  Elizabeth  and 
East  London,  sometimes  also  at  Mossel  Bav.  Tj:us  one 
can  find  two  opportunities  every  week  of  getting  east  or 
west  in  powerful  ocean  steamers,  besides  such  chances  as 
smaller  vessels,  designed   for  freight   rather  than    for 

183 


> ; 


"  -,  7' 


184 


1MPKES810NS  OF   SOU  Til   AFHICA 


111 


'.  i 


passengers,  supply.  From  Durban  there  is  one  weekly 
boat  as  far  as  Delagoa  Bay,  a  vt)yag:e  of  about  twenty- 
four  hours.  From  Delagoa  Bay  northward  to  Beira  and 
Mozambique  the  traveler  must  rely  on  the  steamers  of 
the  German  East  Africa  Line,  which  run  from  Hamburg 
through  the  Red  Sea  all  tlie  way  to  Durban,  making  the 
entire  voyage  in  about  seven  weeks.  The  drawbacks  to 
these  coast  voyages  are  that  the  sea  is  apt  to  be  rough 
between  Cape  Town  and  Duiban,  less  frequently  so 
between  Durbtm  and  Beira,  and  that  there  is  no  sheltered 
port  between  Cape  Town  and  Delagoa  Bay.  At  Port 
Elizabeth  and  at  East  London  the  large  steamers  lie  t)ut 
in  the  ocean,  and  passengers  reach  the  land  by  a  small 
tender,  into  which  they  are  let  down  in  a  sort  of  basket, 
if  there  is  a  sea  running,  and  occasionally,  if  the  sea  be 
very  high,  obliged  to  wait  for  a  day  or  more  until  the 
tender  can  take  them  oif.  Similar  conditions  have  pre- 
vailed at  Durban,  where  a  bar  has  hitherto  prevented  ihe 
big  liners,  except  under  very  favorable  conditions  of 
tide  and  weather,  from  entering  the  otherwise  excellent 
port.  Much,  however,  lias  recently  been  done  to  remove 
the  Durban  bar,  and  it  is  expected  that  large  steamers 
will  soon  be  able  to  cross  it  at  high  tide.  At  Delagoa 
Bay  the  harbor  is  spacious  and  sheltered,  though  the 
approach  requires  care  and  is  not  well  buoyed  and  lighted. 
At  Beira,  the  haven  is  still  better,  and  can  be  entered  at 
all  states  of  the  tide.  There  is  now  a  brisk  goods  trade, 
both  along  the  coast  between  the  ports  I  have  mentioned, 
and  from  Europe  to  each  of  them. 

Secondly,  as  to  the  railways.  The  railway  system  is  a 
simple  one.  A  great  trunk-line  runs  northeastward  from 
Cape  Town  to  a  place  called  De  Aar  Junction,  in  the  east- 
ern part  of  the  Colony.  Here  it  bifurcates.  One  branch 
runs  first  east  and  then  north-northeast  through  the  Orange 


■  Ml  , 


TRAVELING  AND   COMMUNICATIONS 


1  Si- 


Free  State  and  the  Transvaal  to  Pretoria ;  the  other  runs 
north  by  east  to  Kimberley  and  Maf eking,  and  is  now- 
being  continued  tlirough  Bechuanaland  to  Buhiwayo.^  The 
distance  from  Cape  Town  to  Pretoria  is  ten  Imndred  and 
forty  miles,  and  the  journey  takes  (by  the  fastest  train) 
fifty-two  hours.  From  Cape  Town  to  Mafeking  it  is 
eight  hundred  and  seventy-five  mih's,  tlie  journey  taking 
about  fifty  hours.  From  this  trunk-line  two  imjjortant 
branches  run  southward  to  the  coast,  one  to  Port  Eliza- 
beth, the  other  to  East  London  ;  and  by  these  branches  the 
goods  landed  at  those  ports,  and  destined  for  Kimberley 
or  Johannesburg,  are  sent  up.  The  passenger  traffic  on 
the  branches  is  small,  as  people  who  want  to  go  from  the 
Eastern  towns  to  Cape  Town  usually  take  the  less 
fatiguing  as   well   as   cheaper   sea   voyage. 

Three  other  lines  of  railway  remain.  One,  opened  in  the 
end  of  1895,  connects  Durban  with  Pretoria  and  Johan- 
nesburg; another,  opened  in  1894,  runs  from  Delagoa 
Bay  to  Pretoria ;  a  third,  opened  part  of  it  in  1894  and  the 
rest  in  1896,  connects  Beira  with  a  place  called  Chimoyo 
in  the  Portuguese  dominions,  and  is  being  now  built 
therefrom  to  Mtah  and  Fort  Salisbury,  in  the  territory  of 
the  British  South  Africa  Company. - 

Of  these  railways  the  trunk-line  with  its  branches  was 
constructed  by  and  is  (except  the  parts  which  traverse 
the  Orange  Free  State  and  the  Transvaal)  owned  by  the 
government  ol:  Cape  Colony.  The  line  from  Durban  to 
the  Transvaal  border  at  Charlestown  belongs  to  tlie  Natal 
government.     The  rest  of  this  line,  from   Charlestown 

1  This  line  is  now  (Jan.  1898)  o;t,dn  for  traffic  to  Bulawayo.  [Note 
to  second  edition.] 

-  There  is  also  a  line  of  railway  from  Port  Elizabeth  to  Graaf- 
Reinet,  some  short  branch  lines  near  Cape  Town,  and  a  small  line 
from  Graham's  Town  to  the  coast  at  Port  Alfred 


tl-'  >i 
\'1 


Il 


18(1 


IMPRESSIONS   OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


n  ■ 


iiortliward  thr<)u<j;h  the  Transvaal,  is  the  property  of  a 
Diiteh  company,  wliicli  also  owns  the  line  from  Deliiji'ou 
Bay  to  Pretoria  and  from  Pretoria  to  the  frontier  of  the 
Free  State.  The  Beira  railway  belongs  to  a  company 
eontrolhfd  by  the  British  South  Africa  Company,  and  is 
virtually  a  part  of  that  great  undertaking. 

All  these  raihvays,  except  the  Beira  line,  have  the  same 
gage,  one  of  three  feet  six  inches.  The  Beira  line  has  a 
two-foot  gage,  but  will  probably  be  enlarged  as  the  traffic 
increases.  Throughout  South  Africa  the  lines  of  railway 
are  laid  on  steeper  gradients  than  is  usual  in  Europt; :  one 
in  forty  is  not  uncommon,  and  on  the  Natal  line  it  is 
sometimes  one  in  thirty,  though  this  is  being  gradually 
reduced.  Although  the  accommodation  at  the  minor  sta- 
tions is  extremely  simple,  and  sometimes  even  primitive, 
the  railways  are  well  managed,  and  the  cars  arranged  with 
a  view  to  sleep  on  the  night  journ(iys;  so  that  one  can 
manage  even  the  long  transit  from  Cape  Town  to  Pretoria 
with  no  great  fatigue.  Considering  how  very  thinly  peo- 
])led  the  country  is,  so  that  there  is  practically  no  local 
])assenger  and  very  little  local  goods  traffic,  the  railway 
service  is  much  better  than  could  have  been  expected,  and 
does  great  credit  ■*"o  the  enterprise  of  the  people. 

Kailways  have  made  an  enormous  difference,  not  to  travel 
only,  but  to  trade  and  to  polities ;  for  before  the  construc- 
tion of  the  great  trunk-line  (which  was  not  opened  to  Pre- 
toria till  1892)  the  only  means  of  conveyance  was  the 
ox- wagon.  The  ox- wagon  needs  a  few  words  of  description, 
for  it  is  the  most  characteristic  feature  of  South  African 
travel.  It  is  a  long,  low  structure,  drawn  by  seven,  eight, 
nine,  or  even  ten  yoke  of  oxen,  and  is  surmounted  (when 
intended  to  carry  travelers)  by  a  convex  wooden  frame 
and  canvas  roof.     The  animals  are  harnessed  by  a  strong 


TKAVELING  AND  CUMMUNICATIONS 


187 


andliPiivyt'liuiii  Jittiiclu'd  to  theyok*;  wliicjh  holds  oaeh  pair 
togetlier.  The  oxen  iisiially  accompli.sh  about  twelve  miles 
a  day,  but  ean  bo  Diade  to  do  sixteen,  or  with  pressun;  a,  little 
more.  They  walk  vvvy  slowly,  and  tliey  are  allowed  to  rest 
and  feed  more  hours  than  those  durinj*' which  they  travel. 
The  rest-time  is  usually  the  forenoon  and  till  about  four 
p.  M.,  with  another  rest  for  ])art  of  the  nig'ht.  It  was  in  these 
wai^ons  tliat  the  I^oers  earried  with  them  their  wives  and 
children  and  household  goods  in  the  great  exodus  of  iSiJd. 
It  was  in  such  Ava«jjons  that  nearly  all  the  explorations  of 
South  Africa  have  been  made,  su(;h  as  those  by  the  mission- 
aries, and  particuhirly  by  Kol)ert  Moffat  and  by  Livingston*' 
(in  his  earlier  journeys),  and  such  as  those  of  the  hunting 
pi«meers,  nuni  like  Anderscm,  Oordon-Oumming,  and 
ISeh)US.  And  to  this  dav  it  is  on  the  wagon  that  whoever 
traverses  any  unfrequented  region  must  rely.  Horses,  and 
even  mules,  soon  break  down  ;  and  as  the  traveler  nnist 
carry  his  food  and  other  necessaries  of  <Munp  life  with  him, 
he  always  needs  the  wagon  as  a  basis  of  operations,  even 
if  he  has  a  seasoned  horse  which  he  can  use  for  two  or 
three  days  when  speed  is  required.  Wagons  have,  more- 
over, another  value  for  a  Inrge  party :  they  can  be  readily 
formed  into  a  laager,  or  camp,  by  being  drawn  into  a  circle, 
\vith  the  oxen  placed  inside  and  «o  kept  safe  from  the  at- 
tacks of  wild  beasts.  And  where  there  are  hostile  Kafirs 
to  be  feared,  such  a  laager  is  an  efficient  fortress,  from 
within  which  a  few  determined  marksmen  have  often 
successfully  resisted  the  onslaught  of  hordes  of  natives. 
To  this  day  an  immense  trade  is  carried  on  by  means  of 
ox- wagons  between  the  points  where  the  railways  end— 
Maf eking,  Pretoria,  and  Chimoj'o— and  the  new  settle- 
ments in  Matabililand  and  Mashonaland.  When  I  passed 
from  Mafeking  to  Bulawayo  in  October,  1895,  thousands 


188 


IMrUKSSIONS   OF   SOUTH   AFKICA 


of  oxen  were  drawing?  hundreds  of  wapons  alonj]^  the  traek 
between  tliosc  towns.  Wlien,  a  monrli  hiter,  I  trav<'le(l 
from  Fort  Salis])ury  to  Chinioyo,  I  passed  counthvss 
wagons  standiiifj:  idh'  ah)nji^  the  track,  beeausc,  owing  to 
tlie  loi'usts  and  the  drouglit,  wliieli  had  destroj'ed  most  of 
tlie  grass,  the  oxen  had  eitlier  died  or  grown  too  h'an  and 
feeble  to  V)e  able  to  (b'ag  the  loads.  Ilenoe  the  eattle-plague 
whieh  in  189()  carried  otT  the  larger  part  of  the  transport- 
oxen  has  been  a  terrible  misfortune,  not  only  to  the  natives 
who  owned  these  animals,  but  also  to  the  whole  northern 
region,  whieh  depends  upon  cattle  tran.sport  far  its  food, 
its  comforts,  its  building  materials,  and  its  mine  machinery. 
It  is  the  character  of  the  country  that  has  permitted  the 
wagon  to  become  so  important  a  factor  in  South  African 
exi)loration,  politics,  and  commerce.  The  interior,  though 
high,  is  not  generally  rugged.  Much  of  it— indeed,  all  the 
eastern  and  northern  parts— is  a  vast  rolling  plain,  across 
which  wheeled  vehicles  can  pass  with  no  greater  difficulty 
than  the  beds  of  the  streams,  sometimes  deeply  cut  through 
soft  ground,  present.  The;  ranges  of  hills  which  occur  here 
and  there  are  generally  traversed  by  passes,  which,  though 
stony,  are  not  steep  enough  to  be  impracticable.  Over  most 
of  the  southern  half  of  the  plateau  there  is  no  wood,  and 
where  forests  occur  the  trees  seldom  grow  thick  together, 
and  the  brushwood  is  so  dry  and  small  that  it  can  soon 
be  cut  away  to  make  a  passage.  Had  South  Africa  been 
thickly  wooded,  like  the  eastern  parts  of  North  America  or 
some  parts  of  Australia,  wagon-traveling  would  have  been 
difficult  or  impossible ;  but  most  of  it  is,  like  the  country 
between  the  Missouri  River  and  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  a  dry, 
open  country,  where  the  wagon  cj»'i  be  made  a  true  ship  of 
the  desert.  This  explains  the  fact,  so  surprising  to  most 
European  readers  of  African  travel  and  adventure,  that 


TKAVELING    AND  COMMrXlCATlONS 


181) 


wherever  mjin  can  walk  or  ride  he  can  take  his  movinjr 
liome  witli  him. 

For  rapid  transit,  however,  the  traveh>r  who  has  passed 
beyond  the  railway  is  now  not  wli«>lly  dependent  on  the 
ox.  Coaches,  drawn  .><oinetinies  hv  ninles,  .sotnetinies  l»v 
horses,  run  from  many  points  on  the  railways  to  cMitlyinj; 
settlements;  they  are,  iiowever,  always  luu-omt'ortahle  and 
not  always  safe.  They  travel  nijjht  and  day,  usually  ae- 
complishin}^  from  six  to  eijj^ht  miles  an  iiour  <m  «;ood 
ground,  but  muc^h  less  where  the  surface  is  sandy  (»r 
rugged.  Coach  services  are  nuiintained  from  Mafekin<r 
(and  also  from  Pretoria)  to  l^ulawayo,  and  cover  the  dis- 
tance (live  hundred  miles)  in  live  and  a  half  days  and  live 
nights.  They  are  drawn  by  nudes,  which  are  chan<;ed 
every  eight  or  ten  miles.  Considering  the  diflliculties  of  the 
nmte  and  the  heavy  mortality  among  the  animals,  this 
service  does  the  utmost  credit  to  the  eiiter])rising  Transvaal 
Dutchman  (Mr.  Zeederberg)  who  directs  it.  In  the  north 
and  northeast  of  Cape  Colony  and  in  the  Orange  Free 
State,  as  well  ai^  in  Matabililand,  horses  are  very  little  used 
either  for  riding  oi  for  driving,  owing  to  the  prevalence 
of  a  disease  cjdled  horse-sickness,  whi«!h  attacks  nearlv 
every  animal  and  from  which  only  al)out  a  (puirter  re- 
cover. This  is  one  reason  why  so  little  exjjloration  has 
been  done  on  horseback ;  and  it  is  a  point  to  be  noted  by 
those  who  desire  to  travel  in  the  countrv,  and  who  uaturallv 
think  of  the  mode  by  which  people  used  to  nnike  journeys 
in  Europe,  and  by  which  they  make  journeys  still  in  large 
parts  of  South  and  of  North  America,  as  well  as  in  western 
Asia. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  "tracks"  used  by  wagons  and 
coaches ;  the  reader  must  not  suppose  that  these  tracks  are 
roads.     There  are  no  made  roads  in  South  Africa,  except 


m 


•f  (1 


i 


I'.M) 


IMPHESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


M:i 


ill  tlio  iioip:lil)()r}nM)(l  of  Ca\)0,  Town,  Durban,  Mnritzburp, 
<inilninrs  Town,  iind  (»no  or  two  otlicr  towns.  Xiillicr  iiro 
tliciv  (except  as  uforcsaid)  any  brid^'cs,  sav(^  hcrt'  and  tlioru 
rude  ones  of  lo^s  thrown  across  a  stream  l)ed  HIsewliero 
tlie  track  is  merely  n  line  across  the  vchlt  {i)rairie),  marked 
and  sometimes  cut  deep  by  the  wlieels  of  nmny  wa^'ons, 
where  all  tiiat  man  has  done  has  been  to  remove  the  trees 
or  bushes.  Here  and  then?  the  ed^es  of  the  steej)  stream 
banks  have  been  cut  down  so  as  to  allow  a  vehicle  to  do- 
s(*end  more  easily  to  the  bottom,  where  dnriuf,'  the  rains  the 
stream  tiows,  an<l  duriufj:  the  rest  of  the  year  the  j^round 
is  sandv  (n*  muddv.  After  heaw  rain  a  stream  is  soine- 
times  iinpassal)l(^  for  days  together,  and  the  waj^'ons  have 
to  wait  on  the  bank  till  the  torrent  subsides.  At  all  times 
these  water  channels  are  troublesome,  for  the  oxen  or 
mules  are  ai)t  to  jib  or  j;et  (mt  of  hand  in  descending;  the 
steep  .slope,  and  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  j^et  them  urged  uj) 
the  steep  slope  on  the  oth'.'r  side.  A(M'idents  often  occur, 
and  altof^ether  it  imiy  be  said  that  the  (lon(/(is—t]ns  is  the 
name  jilven  to  these  hollow  stream  channels— form  the 
most  exciting  feature  of  South  African  tmvel  (in  places 
where  wild  beasts  and  natives  are  no  longer  dangcn-ous) 
and  afford  the  greatest  scope  for  the  skill  of  the  Scmth 
African  driver. 

Skilful  he  must  be,  for  he  never  drives  less  than  six 
span  of  oxen,  and  seldom  less  than  three  pairs  of  liorses 
or  mules  (the  Bulawayo  coach  has  Ave  pairs).  It  takes 
t^'o  men  to  drive.  One  wields  an  immensely  long  whi}), 
while  the  other  holds  the  reins.  Both  incessantly  apostro- 
phize the  animals.  It  is  chiefly  with  the  whip  that  the  team 
is  driven ;  but  if  the  team  is  one  of  mules,  one  of  the  two 
drivers  is  for  a  large  part  of  the  time  on  his  feet,  running 
alongside  the  beasts,  beating  them  with  a  short  whip  and 


.(  'I 


M 


TlfAVULINU   AND   CoMML'MCATlONS 


111  I 


sluHiiinj,'  to  tlicin  by  their  iinuics,  witli  such  adjectives, 
exph'tives,  iui<)  other  ohjiir^'Jitions  as  he  eaJi  eoiiimaiMl. 
Maiiv  Diitehnien  (h)  drive  woiKh'rfullv  Wi'll. 

I  liave  saitl  iiothiuj;  of  internal  water  travel  by  river  or 
lake,  because  none  exists.  There  are  no  lakes,  an«l  there 
is  not  a  river  with  'vater  enough  to  lloat  the  smallest 
steamboat,  except  some  readies  of  the  liitnpopo  liiver  in 
the  wet  .season.  The  onlv  steamer  that  idies  anvwhere  «»n 
a  river  is  that  which  ascends  the  Punj^we  River  from  Beira 
to  Fontesvilla  ;  it  p>es  only  as  far  as  the  tide  jjroe.s,  and  on 
most'of  its  tri]>s  spends  fully  half  its  time  stickiu},^  on 
the  sand-banks  with  which  the  Punj^'we  abounds.  So  far 
as  I  know,  no  (Uie  has  ever  j)ro})o.se(l  to  make  a  canal  in 
any  part  of  the  country. 

From  what  has  ))een  said  it  will  be  gathered  that  there 
is  no  <'ountry  where  railways  are  and  Avill  be  more  nciuled 
than  South  Africa.  Unfortunately,  they  will  for  a  great 
while  have  no  local  trallic,  because  mo.st  of  the  country 
they  pass  through  has  not  one  white  inhal)itanl  to  the 
square  mile.  Their  functi(m  is  to  connect  the  coast  with 
the  distant  mining  centers,  in  which  population  has  begun 
to  grow.  To  lay  them  is,  liowever,  comi)ai'atively  chea]) 
work.  Except  in  the  immediate  neighljorhood  of  a  town, 
nothing  has  to  be  paid  for  the  land.  The  gradients  all 
through  the  interior  jdateau  are  comparatively  easy,  and 
the  engineers  have  in  Africa  cared  less  for  nuiking 
their  ascents  gentle  than  we  do  in  older  countries.  Even 
in  the  hilly  i)arts  (tf  the  Transvaal  and  Matabililand  the 
ranges  are  not  high  or  steep,  and  one  can  turn  a  ko])je 
instead  of  cutting  or  tunneling  through  it.  Few  bi-idges 
are  needed,  because  there  are  few  rivers.  Accordingly,  one 
is  scarcely  surprised  to  hear  that  the  British  South  Africa 
Company  are  completing  their  new  line  from  Mafeking 


I 


''. 


:i 


10 '2 


IMPKESSIONS   OF   SOUTH   AFKICa 


I  ' 


( ' 


i 


to  Bulawayo,  a  distauee  of  fuUy  six  liuiidred  miles,  in  less 
than  two  years  from  the  time  they  set  to  work  at  it 
(March,  189G),  and  that  their  other  line,  from  Chimoyo  to 
Fort  Salisbury,  a  shorter  one,  but  through  a  much  more 
hilly  and  difficult  country,  is  to  be  finished  and  open  for 
traffic;  in  about  two  years  from  the  time  when  it  was  begun. 
Railways  are  the  chief  need  of  these  newest  countries, 
and  the  best  means,  next  to  a  wise  and  conciliatoiT 
administration,  of  preventing  fresh  native  outbreaks. 

A  word  as  to  another  point  on  whicjh  any  one  planning 
a  tour  to  Sr»uth  Africa  may  be  curious — the  accommodation 
obtaina]>le.  Most  travelers  have  given  the  inns  a  bad  name. 
My  own  experience  is  scantj'^,  for  we  were  so  often  the  re- 
cipients of  private  hosi)itality  as  to  have  occasion  to  sleep 
in  an  inn  (apart  from  the  ''  stores  "  of  Bechuanaland  and 
Mashonaland,  of  which  more  hereafter)  in  four  places  only, 
Mafeking,  Ladybrand,  Durban,  and  Bloemfontein.  But 
it  seemed  to  us  that,  considering  the  newness  of  the  coun- 
try, and  the  difficulty  in  many  places  of  furnishing  a  house 
well  and  of  securing  provisions,  the  entertainment  was 
quite  tolerable,  sometimes  much  better  than  one  had  ex- 
pected. In  the  two  colonies,  and  the  chief  places  of  the 
two  republics,  clean  beds  and  enough  to  eat  can  always 
be  had ;  in  the  largest  places  there  is  nothing  to  comjilain 
of,  though  the  prices  are  sometimes  high.  Luxuries  are 
unprocurable,  but  no  sensible  man  will  go  to  a  new 
country  expecting  luxuries. 


il 


\y    '.'■ 


§3  '' 

, 

^i  ' 

CHAPTER  XIV 

FROM  CAPE  TOWN  TO  BULAWAYO 

IN  this  and  the  three  f  olio  win  ti^  (rhiipters  I  propose  to 
give  some  acconut  c^f  the  eountry  through  wliieh  the 
traveler  passes  on  his  way  from  the  coast  to  the  points 
whieh  are  the  natural  goals  of  a  South  African  journey, 
Kimberley  and  Johannesburg,  Bulawayo  and  Fort  Salis- 
bury, hoping  thereby  to  convey  a  nu)re  lively  impression 
of  the  aspects  of  the  land  and  its  inhabitants  than  general 
descriptions  can  give,  and  incidentally  to  find  o})portu- 
nities  for  touching  upon  some  of  the  questions  on  which 
the  future  of  the  country  will  turn. 

First,  a  few  words  about  the  voyage.  You  can  go  to 
South  Africa  either  b\  one  of  the  two  great  English  lines 
across  the  Atlantic  to  the  ports  of  Cape  Colony  and  Natal, 
or  by  the  German  line  through  the  Red  Sea  and  along  the 
East  African  coast  to  Beira  or  Delagoa  Bay.  The  steamers 
of  the  German  line  take  thirty  days  from  Port  Said  to  Beira, 
and  two  days  more  to  Delagoa  Bay.  They  are  good  boats, 
though  much  smaller  than  those  of  the  English  lines  to 
the  Cape,  and  the  voyage  from  Port  Said  has  the  advan- 
tage of  being,  at  most  times  of  the  year,  a  smooth  one 
pretty  nearly  the  whole  way.  They  touch  at  Aden,  Zan- 
zibai-,  Dar-es-Salaam,  and  Quilimane,  and  give  an  oppor- 

13  10:{ 


n 

! 


',. 


i 


v>m\ 


'*J 


\\ 


1" 


( 


194 


IMPKESSIOXS  OF   SOUTH  AFltICA 


m  .1 ' 


II 


l!i 


tuiiity  of  seein<^  tliese  plaees.  But  all  along  the  East 
African  coast  the  heat  is  excessive—  a  damp,  (le})ressing 
heat.  And  tlie  whole  time  required  to  reach  Beira  and 
England,  even  if  one  travels  by  rail  from  Calais  to  Mar- 
seilles, Brindisi,  or  Naples,  and  takes  a  British  Svcamer 
thence  to  Port  Said,  joining  the  German  boat  at  the  latter 
port,  is  more  than  five  weeks.  Nearly  everybody,  tlu'r*.'- 
fore,  chooses  the  Atlantic  route  from  Southampton  to 
the  Cape.  The  Atlantic  voyage,  which  lasts  from  sixteen 
to  twenty  days,  is,  on  the  whole,  a  pleasant  and  healtli- 
ful  one.  The  steamers,  both  those  of  the  Castle  Line 
and  those  of  the  Union  Line,  are  comfortable  and  well 
appointed,  and  I  cannot  imagine  any  navigation  more 
scrupulously  careful  than  that  which  I  saw  on  board  the 
Castle  liner  by  which  I  went  out  and  returned.  During 
the  winter  and  spring  months  there  is  often  pretty  rough 
weather  from  England  as  far  as  Madeira.  But  from  that 
island  onward,  or  at  any  rate  fi'om  the  Canaries  onward, 
one  has  usually  a  fairly  smooth  sea  with  moderate  breezes, 
till  within  two  or  three  days  of  Cape  Town,  when  head 
winds  are  frequentl}'  encountered.  Nor  is  the  heat  ex- 
cessive. Except  during  the  two  days  between  Cape  Verde 
and  the  equator,  it  is  never  more  than  what  one  can  en- 
joy during  the  day  and  tolerate  during  the  night.  One 
sees  land  only  at  Madeira,  where  the  steamer  coals  for  a  few 
hours ;  at  the  picturesque  Canary  Islands,  between  which 
she  passes,  gaining,  if  the  weather  be  clear,  a  superb  view 
of  the  magnificent  Peak  of  Tenerife;  and  at  Cape  Verde, 
where  she  runs  (in  the  daytime)  within  a  few  miles  of  the 
African  coast.  Those  who  enjoy  the  colors  of  the  sea  and 
of  the  sea  skies,  and  to  whom  the  absence  of  letters,  tele- 
grams, and  newspapers  is  welcome,  will  find  few  more 
agreeable  ways  of  passing  a  fortnight.    After  Cape  Finis- 


h  ■  * 


ill 


yi 


~3 


FROM  CAPE  TOWN  TO  BULAWAYO 


195 


tierra  very  few  vessels  are  seen.  After  Madeira  every 
niglit  reveals  new  stars  rising  from  the  ocean  as  our  own 
begin  to  vanish. 

Tutte  le  stcllp  gii\  doll'  altro  polo 
Vedea  la  iiotte,  e  il  iiostro  taiito  hasso 
Che  uon  sorgeva  fuor  del  mariii  suolo,! 

as  Ulysses  says,  in  Dante's  poem,  of  his  voyage  to  the 
southern  hemisphere.  The  pleasure  of  watching  unfamil- 
iar constellations  rise  from  the  east  and  sweep  across  the 
sky  is  a  keen  one,  whieli  often  kept  us  late  from  sleep. 

For  a  few  hours  only  before  reaching  Cape  Town  (hn^s 
one  discern  on  the  eastern  liorizon  the  stern  gray  moun- 
tains that  rise  along  the  barren  coast.  A  nobler  site  for 
a  city  and  a  naval  stronghold  than  that  of  the  capital  of 
South  Africa  can  hardly  be  imagined.  It  rivals  Gibraltar 
and  Constantinople,  Bombay  and  San  Francisco.  Imme- 
diately behind  the  town,  which  lies  along  the  sea,  the  nui- 
jestic  mass  of  Table  JMountain  rises  to  a  height  of  3G0() 
feet,  a  steep  and  partly  wooded  slope  capped  by  a  long 
line  of  sheer  sandstone  precipices  more  than  1000  feet 
high,  and  flanked  to  right  and  left  by  bold,  isolated  peaks. 
The  beautiful  sweep  of  the  bay  in  front,  the  towering  crags 
behind,  and  the  romantic  pinnacles  which  rise  (^n  either 
side,  make  a  landscape  that  no  one  who  has  seen  it  can 
forget.  The  town  itself  is  disappointing.  It  has  pre- 
served very  little  of  its  old  Dutch  character.  The;  minia- 
ture canals  which  once  trr  v^ersed  it  are  gone.  The  streets, 
except  two,  are  rather  narrow,  and  bordered  by  low  houses ; 
nor  is  there  much  to  admire  in  the  Tmildings,  exce])t  the 
handsome  Parliament  House,  the  new  post-oflBce,  and  the 

1"  Night  already  saw  all  the  stars  of  the  other  pole,  and  ours 
brought  so  low  that  it  rose  not  from  the  surface  of  the  sea." 


I 


ill 


i 


1  ' 


{■ 


196 


IMPKESSIOXS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


V 

1' 

Wi 

m  ' 

^■t 

H  \ 

\ 

V  4 


r 


offices  of  the  Standard  Bank.  Tlie  immediate  suburbs, 
inhabited  chiefly  l)y  Malays  and  other  colored  people,  are 
mean.  But  the  neighborhood  is  extremely  attractiv^e.  To 
the  northwest  Table  Mountain  and  its  spurs  descend 
steeply  to  the  sea,  and  the  road  which  runs  along  the  beach 
past  the  village  of  Sea  Point  offers  a  long  series  of  striking 
views  of  shore  and  crag.  It  is  on  the  east,  however,  that 
the  most  beautiful  spots  lie.  Five  miles  from  Cape  Town, 
and  connected  with  it  by  railway,  the  village  of  Ronde- 
bosch  nestles  under  the  angle  of  Table  Mountain,  and  a 
mile  farther  along  the  line  is  the  little  town  of  Wynberg. 
Round  these  places,  or  between  them  and  Cai)e  Town, 
nearly  all  the  richer,  and  a  great  many  even  of  the  poorer, 
white  people  of  Cape  Town  live.  The  roads  are  bordered 
by  pretty  villas,  whose  grounds,  concealed  by  no  walls, 
are  filled  with  magnolias  and  other  flowering  trees  and 
shrubs.  Avenues  of  tall  pines  or  of  superb  oaks,  planted 
by  the  Dutch  in  the  last  century,  run  here  and  there  along 
tiie  by-roads.  Immediately  above,  the  gray  precipices  of 
Table  Mountain  tower  into  the  air,  while  in  the  opposite 
direction  a  break  in  the  woods  shows  in  tlie  far  distance 
the  sharp  summits,  snow-tipped  during  the  winter  months, 
of  the  lofty  range  of  the  Hottentots  Holland  Mountains. 
It  woul(J  be  hard  to  find  auA  where,  even  in  Italv  or  the 
Pyrenees,  more  exquisite  combinations  of  soft  and  cul- 
tivated landscape  with  grand  mountain  forms  than  this 
part  of  the  Cape  peninsula  presents.  Perhaps  the  most 
charming  nook  of  all  is  where  the  quaint  old  Dutch  farm- 
house of  Groot  Constantia  stands  among  its  vineyards, 
about  ten  miles  from  Cape  Town.  Behind  it  is  the  range 
which  connects  the  hills  of  Simon's  Bay  with  Table 
Mountain ;  its  declivities  are  at  this  point  covered  with 
the  graceful  silver-tree,  whose  glistening  foliage  shines 


m  r 


M;i;    )■ 


FRO      CAPE  TOWN  TO  BULAWAYO 


107 


brighter  than  that  ut  the  European  olive.  Beneath  the 
farm-house  are  the  vineyards  wliieh  produce  the  famous 
sweet  wine  that  bears  the  name  of  Constantia,  sh>piii|^ 
gently  toward  the  waters  of  False  Bay,  whose  fartlier 
side  is  guarded  by  a  wall  of  frowning  peaks,  while  the 
deep-blue,  misty  ocean  opens  in  the  distance.  It  is  a 
landscape  unlike  anythiug  one  can  a.  o  in  Europe,  and 
though  the  light  in  sea  and  sky  is  brilliant,  the  brilliance 
is  on  this  coast  soft  and  mellow,  unlike  the  clear,  sliarp 
radiance  of  the  arid  interior. 

No  one  who  cores  for  natural  scenery  quits  Cape  Town 
without  ascending  Table  Mountain,  whose  summit  aifords 
not  only  a  very  beautiful  and  extensive  prospect  over  the 
surrounding  country,  but  a  very  striking  ocean  view.  Look- 
ing down  the  narrow  gullies  that  descend  from  the  to]), 
one  sees  the  intensely  blue  sea  closuig  them  below,  framed 
between  their  jutting  crags,  wliile  on  the  other  side  the  busy 
streets  and  wharves  of  Cape  Town  lie  directly  under  tlie  eye, 
and  one  can  discover  the  vehicles  in  the  streets  and  tlie 
trees  in  the  Governor's  garden.  The  heaths  and  other 
flowers  and  shrubs  that  grow  profusely  over  the  wide  top, 
which  is  not  flat,  as  he  who  looks  at  it  from  the  sea  fancies, 
but  cut  up  by  glens,  with  here  and  there  lake  reservoirs 
in  the  hollows,  are  very  lovely,  and  give  a  novel  and 
peculiar  charm  to  this  ascent.  Nor  is  the  excursion  to 
Cape  Point,  the  real  Cape  of  Storms  of  Bartholomeu 
Diaz,  and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  of  Vasco  da  Gama,  less 
beautiful.  An  hour  in  the  railway  brings  one  to  Simon's 
Bay,  the  station  of  the  British  naval  squadron,  a  small 
but  fairly  well-rheltered  iidet  under  high  hills.  From 
this  one  drives  for  four  liours  over  a  very  rough  track 
through  a  lonely  and  silent  country,  sometimes  sandy, 
sometimes  thick  with  brushwood,  but  everywhere  decked 

18* 


6. 


'rl; 


I 


.J^S^"- 


if 


198 


IMPltESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


i 


I 


t 


3 


i 

i 


I         ( 


111  i 


with  brilliant  flowers,  to  the  Cape,  a  inaguifleent  headland 
rising  almost  vertically  from  the  ocean  to  a  height  of  800 
feet.  Long,  heavy  surges  are  always  foaming  on  the  rocks 
))elow,  and  nowhere,  even  on  this  troubled  coast,  where 
the  hot  Mozambique  current  meets  a  stream  of  cold 
Antarctic  water,  do  gales  more  often  liowl  and  shriek 
than  round  these  rocky  i)innacles.  •  One  can  well  under- 
stand the  terror  with  which  the  Portuguese  sailors  five 
(riMituries  ago  used  to  see  the  grim  headland  loom  up 
through  the  clouds  driven  by  the  strong  southeasters, 
that  kei)t  them  struggling  for  days  or  weeks  to  round  the 
cape  that  nuirked  their  way  to  India.  But  Sir  Francis 
Drake,  who  passed  it  coming  home  westward  from  his 
ever-famous  voyage  round  the  world,  had  a  more  auspi- 
cious experience  :  "  We  ran  hard  aboard  the  Cape,  finding 
the  report  of  the  Portuguese  to  be  most  false,  who  affirm 
tluit  it  is  the  most  dangerous  cape  of  the  world,  never 
without  intolerable  storms  and  present  danger  to  travel- 
ers who  come  near  the  same.  This  cape  is  a  most  stately 
thing,  and  the  finest  cape  we  saw  in  the  whole  circum- 
ference of  the  earth." 

A  third  excursion,  which  well  repays  the  traveler,  is  to 
the  quaint  little  town  of  Stellenbosch,  founded  by  Adrian 
van  der  Stel  (Governor  of  the  Colony)  in  1680,  and  called 
after  himself  and  his  wife,  whose  name  was  Bosch.  It 
is  built  in  genuine  Dutch  style,  with  straight  streets  of 
two-storied  white  houses,  the  windows  nearly  flush  with 
the  walls,  as  in  Holland,  the  woodwork  and  the  green  shut- 
ters those  of  Hcdland,  and  long  lines  of  dark-green  oaks 
shading  the  foot-walks  on  each  side  the  street.  Soft,  rich 
pastures  all  round— for  there  is  plenty  of  water  brought 
down  from  Ihe  hills— complete  the  reseml)lance  to  a  Ilob- 
bema  landscape ;  and  it  is  only  when  one  looks  up  and 


PROM   CAPE   TOWN   TO  BI'LAWAYO 


109 


sees  rocky  niountains  soaring  beliiiul  into  the  sky  that 
the  iUusiou  is  })rokou.  It  is  here,  and  in  the  town  of 
Swellenchun,  fartlier  east,  and  in  some  of  the  villages  that 
lie  northward  of  Stellenboseh  in  the  western  j)rovinee, 
that  the  Duteh  element  has  remained  strongest  and  has 
best  retained  its  ancient  wavs  and  cnstoms. 

We  have,  however,  delayed  long  enough  round  the  capi- 
tal, and  it  is  time  to  plunge  into  the  interior  by  the  rail- 
way. Sixty  miles  to  the  north  of  Cape  Town,  the  great 
trunk-line,  which  has  threaded  its  way  throiigh  the  valleys 
of  an  outlying  range  of  moui^tains,  readies  the  foot  of  the 
great  inner  table-land  at  a  place  called  Hex  River,  and  in 
an  hour  climbs  by  zigzags  up  an  incline  which  is  in  some 
l)laces  as  steep  as  one  in  thirty-five,  mounting  KJOO  feet 
into  a  desert  land.  Rugged  brown  mountains,  sometimes 
craggy,  sometimes  covered  with  nuisses  of  loose  stone, 
rise  above  the  lower  ground,  now  a  valley,  now  an  oi)en 
plain,  through  which  the  railway  takes  its  (astward  way. 
The  bushes,  which  had  been  tall  and  covered  with  blos- 
soms on  the  ascent,  are  now  stunted,  bearing  small  and  usu- 
ally withered  flowers.  Hardly  an  herb,  and  not  a  blade 
of  grass,  is  to  be  seen  on  the  ground,  which  is  sometimes 
of  clay,  baked  harO  l)y  the  sun,  sometimes  of  sand,  witli- 
out  a  drop  of  water  anywhere.  Yet  water  flows  \»  'en, 
now  and  then  in  the  summer,  a  storm  breaks,  or  a  few 
showers  come ;  and  then  nature  revives,  and  for  a  week 
or  two  flowers  spring  from  the  soil  and  a  fresher  green 
comes  upon  the  Ijushes.  In  a  landscape  so  arid  one  hears 
with  surprise  that  tlie  land  is  worth  ten  shillings  an  acre, 
for  one  or  two  of  the  snudlest  shrubs  give  feed  for  sheep, 
and  there  are  wells  scattered  about  sufficient  for  the  flocks. 
The  farms  are  large,  usually  of  at  least  six  thousand  a'cres, 
so  one  seldom  sees  a  farm-house.    The  farmers  are  all 


I.  ii 


ii  y 


(ji 


^i: 


''Mhi 


fii 


l: 


.!■* 


200 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


i)> 


of  Boer  stock.  They  lead  a  lonely  life  in  a  silent  and 
melancholy  nature,  hut  tlieii'  liabitual  gravity  has  not 
made  them  unsocial,  for  they  are  fond  of  riding  or  driv- 
ing in  their  wagons  to  visit  one  another  on  all  occasions 
of  festivity  or  mourning.  Every  ten  or  fifteen  miles  there 
is  a  station,  and  here  the  British  element  in  the  popula- 
tion appears,  chiefly  occupied  in  storekeeping.  At  Mat- 
jesfontein  an  enterprising  Scotchman  has  built  an  hotel 
and  a  ni,  ''•^er  small  villas  to  serve  as  a  health  resort ; 
has  dug  V  iV>  nd  planted  Australian  gums  for  shade, 
making  a  i^  T  -is  in  the  desert.  Farther  east  the  vil- 
lage of  Beauiort  V\  >  '  the  ordy  place  along  the  line  that 
aspires  to  be  called  a  town,  boasts  a  church  with  a  spire, 
and  has  one  or  two  streets,  though  most  of  its  houses 
are  stuck  down  irregularly  over  a  surface  covered  with 
broken  bottles  and  empty  sardine  and  preserved -meat  tins. 
Here,  too,  there  is  a  large,  shallow  pond  of  water,  and 
here  people  with  weak  lungs  come  to  breathe  the  keen, 
dry,  invigorating  air.  Of  its  efficacy  there  is  no  doubt, 
but  one  would  t  link  that  the  want  of  society  and  of 
variety  would  be  almost  as  depressing  as  the  air  is  stimu- 
lating. The  prospects  have  a  certain  beauty,  for  beyond 
the  wide,  bare,  gi*ay  plain  to  the  south  sharp  mountains 
stand  up,  which  take  at  sunrise  and  sunset  dehghtful  tints 
of  blue  and  purple,  and  the  sense  of  a  vast  expanse  on 
earth  beneath  and  in  heaven  above  has  something  strange 
and  solemn.  But  the  monotony  of  perpetual  sunlight 
upon  a  landscape  which  has  no  foregrounds  and  never 
changes,  save  in  color,  must  be  trying  to  those  who  have 
no  occupation  except  that  of  getting  well. 

This  Karroo  scenery  continues,  with  little  variation, 
for  hundreds  of  miles.  To  the  north  of  the  railway, 
which  runs  mostly  from  west  to  east,  the  aspect  of  the 


FROM  CAPK  TOWN  TO  BULAWAYO 


'201 


coinitrv  is  much  tlio  same,  dry,  stony,  and  forbiddinjr, 
ft)r  full  three  liundred  miles  to  the  Oranjje  Kiver,  and 
heyond  that  into  Xama(iualnnd.  Except  for  the  few 
houses  at  some  of  the  stations,  it  seems  a  wilderness;  yet 
here  and  there  stand  tiny  vilhijj:es,  connected  by  lines  of 
coach  with  tlie  railway,  whitlier  the  neijjrlihorinj;  farmers 
come  to  supply  their  household  needs.  But  as  the  train 
moves  farther  and  fartlier  eastward  the  features  of  nature 
grow  less  austere.  Tlie  nunintains  by  de}.?:rees  reeeih' 
or  sink;  the  country  l)eeomes  more  of  a  ^reat  o])en  j)lain, 
though  with  isolated  hills  visible  here  and  there  over  its 
€\\I)anse.  It  is  also  slightly  greener,  and  after  tlie  rains 
some  little  grass  springs  up,  besid«'s  the  1  v,  succulent 
shrul)  which  the  sheep  eat.  At  l)e  Aar  .  un  ion,  five 
hundred  miles  from  Cnpe  Town,  the  line  t  1^1.  ifontein 
and  the  Transvaal  branches  off  to  the  r'  'it.  We  follow 
the  western  branch  over  a  vast  rolling  plain  >>  the  Orange 
River,  here  a  perennial  stream,  and  a<  «ix  hundred  and 
forty-six  miles  from  Cape  Town  fiuv  ourselves  once 
more  in  the  haunts  of  men  at  Kimberley. 

Kimberlev.  the  citv  of  diamonds,  has  had  a  curious  his- 
tory.  In  1 800-70  the  precious  crystals,  first  found  in  1 867 
near  the  Orange  River,  were  discovered  here  in  considerable 
quantity.  A  sudden  rush  of  adventurers  from  all  parts  of 
South  Africa,  as  well  as  from  Europe,  gave  it  in  three  or 
four  years  a  population  of  many  thousands.  The  mining 
claims  were  then  and  for  some  years  afterward  in  the 
hands  of  a  large  number  of  persons  and  companies  who 
had  opened  them  or  purchased  them.  The  competition 
of  these  independent  mine-workers  was  bringing  down  the 
price  of  the  stones,  and  the  waste  or  leakage  arising  from 
the  theft  of  stones  by  the  native  work-people,  who  sold 
them  to  European  I.  D.  B.  (illicit  diamond-buyers),  sen- 


1 


a'! 


1 1 

VT  II 


t    1 

1 

,  1 

1 

V 

1 

202 


IMPRESSIONS  OK   SOUTH   Al'lUCA 


]1 


• 


'i    ! 


h\ 


\i 


oiisly  rcdiKH'd  tlu;  profits  of  milling.  It  was  soon  seen 
that  the  consolidation  of  the  various  concerns  would 
effect  enormous  savinj,'s  and  form  the  only  means  of  kecj)- 
iii<,'  up  the  price  of  diamonds.  The  process  of  amalga- 
nuiting  the  claims  and  interests  and  merging  th<'m  in 
one  great  corporation  was  comjjleted  in  188;"),  ehi(;fly 
by  th(^  skill  and  boldness  of  ]Mr.  Cecil  J.  Khodes,  who 
had  gone  to  Natal  for  his  health  shortly  before  1870, 
and  came  up  to  Kimberley  in  the  first  months  of  tlie  rush. 
Since  the  amalgamation  the  great  corporation,  called  the 
De  Beers  Consolidated  Alining  CN)mi)any,  has  reduced  the 
output  of  diamonds  to  just  such  an  annual  amount  as  ex- 
perien(;e  has  proved  that  Europe  and  America— the  United 
States  is  the  chief  market— are  able  to  take  at  a  price 
high  enough  to  leave  a  large  profit.  By  this  means  the  price 
has  been  well  nuiintained.  This  policy,  however,  has  inci- 
dentally reduced  the  population  of  Kimberley.  One  great 
corporation,  with  its  comparatively  small  staff  of  em- 
ployees, has  taken  the  place  of  the  crowd  of  independent 
adventurers  of  the  old  days,  and  some  of  the  mines  have 
been  closed  because  the  rest  are  sufficient  to  produce  as 
many  diamonds  as  it  is  deemed  jn'udent  to  put  upon  the 
market.  Thus  there  are  now  only  aljou.t  10,000  whites 
in  the  town,  and  some  of  the  poorer  quarters  are  almost 
deserted,  the  stores  and  taverns,  as  well  as  the  shanty 
dwellings,  empty  and  falling  to  pieces.  In  the  better 
quarters,  however,  the  old  roughness  has  been  replaced 
by  order  and  comfort.  Many  of  the  best  villas  are  em- 
bowered in  groves  of  tall  Australian  gum-trees,  while  the 
streets  and  roads  are  bordered  either  by  gum-trees  or  by 
hedges  of  prickly-pear  or  agave.  The  streets  are  wide, 
and  most  of  the  houses  are  detached  and  of  one  story, 
})uilt  like  Indian  bungalows ;  so  the  town  covers  an  area 


FHOM  CAI'K  TOWN  TO  UL'LA\VAV(. 


201J 


qtiitt^  disproportioimtc  to  its  population,  aiul  pvcs  tli«' 
iiiiprcssioii  of  at)  extensive  eity.  Fof  the  residence  of 
the  Huropeaiis  eniphn'ed  in  the  two  ^reat  mines  \vlii<'h 
the  Company  works,  a  suhurb  eaiied  Kenilwortli  lias  Ih-ch 
built  by  Mr.  KMutdes,  where  neat  houses  of  four,  live,  or 
six  rooms  each  stand  in  handsoin*;  avenues  j)lanted  with 
Australian  tives,  the  so-ealled  '' beefv,'(»od ''  and  the  r-ed 
^nim.  They  are  not  beautiful  trees,  but  they  have  the 
m(!rit  of  <j;rowing  very  fast,  and  any  shade  is  welcome. 

The  diamonds  are  found  in  beds  of  elav,  of  which  thei'o 
mv  two:  a  veUow  and  softish  elav,  Iviny;  on  or  near  the 
surfacH',  an<l  a  hard  l)luc  eluy,  lyinjjr  deeper.  These  clays, 
which  are  usuallv  covered  by  ii  thin  laver  of  calcareous 
rock,  are  sui)posed  to  be  the  renuuns  of  mud-])its  due  to 
volcanic  action,  such  as  the  so-called  mud-volcanoes  of 
Iceland,  near  NanmskanT,  on  the  banks  of  l^ake  iNIyvatn, 
or  such  as  the  similar  boiliiijL^  mud-pits  of  the  Yellowstone 
Park  country,  called  from  their  l)rilliant  colors  the  "  Paint- 
pots."  It  is,  at  any  rate,  from  circular  clay  basins  inclosed 
within  a  harder  rock  (])asalt,  black  shale,  and  (iuartzite) 
that  the  stones  are  obtained.  Some  of  the  ndnes  are 
worked  even  to  a  depth  of  1200  feet  by  shafts  and  sub- 
terranean galleries.  Some  are  open,  and  these,  particularly 
that  called  the  Wesselton  Mine,  are  an  interesting,'  siixhl. 
This  dee})  hollow,  one  third  of  a  mile  in  circumference 
and  100  feet  deep,  inclosed  ))y  a  strong  fence  of  bai'bed 
wire,  is  filled  by  a  swai-ni  of  active  Kafir  workmen,  cleav- 
ing the  ''  hard  l)lue  "  with  pickaxes,  piling  it  up  on  bai'i-ows, 
and  carrying  it  off  to  the  wide  fields,  where  it  is  left  ex- 
posed to  the  suu  and.  during  three  montlis,  to  the  rain. 
Having  been  thus  subjt^cted  to  a  natural  decomposition, 
it  is  the  more  readily  brought  by  the  picl'ax  into  smaller 
fragments  before   being   sent  to  the  mills,  where  it  is 


■  ( 


! 

I 


«li 


2U4 


IMl'KESSloNS  OF   HOL'TII   Al'UK'A 


': 


t 


I  :  i     ! 


cruslu'd,  pnlvorizcd,  and  fiTially  wasliod  to  pet  nt  tlio 
stoiU'H.  NowIrto  in  tlic  world  doos  the  liiddon  wcaltli 
of  tlie  soil  ai  I  the  cleinont  of  chancte  in  its  discovery 
strikii  one  so  forcibly  as  liorc,  when;  you  arc  shown  a 
I>icc«'  of  ground  a  few  acres  iti  ext(int,  and  are  told,  "Out 
of  this  i»it  diamonds  of  the  value  of  twelve  million 
jK)unds  sterling  [more  than  sixty  million  dollars]  have 
heen  taken.  Twenty-six  years  ago  the  ground  might  have 
been  houglit  for  fifty  pounds." 

The  most  striking  sight  at  Kimberley,  and  one  uni(iuo 
in  the  woi'ld,  is  furnished  by  the  two  so-called  "com- 
pounds" in  which  the  mitives  who  work  in  the  mines  are 
lioused  and  confined.  Tiicy  are  huge  inclosures,  unroofed, 
but  covered  wit-ii  a  wire  netting  to  prevent  anything  from 
being  tin  own  out  of  them  over  the  walls,  and  with  a  .sub- 
terranean entrance  to  the  adjoining  mine.  The  mine  is 
worked  on  the  system  of  three  eight-hour  shifts,  .so  that 
the  worknuiu  is  never  more  than  eight  hours  together 
underground.  Round  the  interior  of  the  wall  there  are 
built  sheds  or  Inits,  in  which  the  natives  live  and  sleep 
when  not  working.  A  hospital  is  also  provided  within 
the  inclosure,  as  well  as  a  school  where  the  work-people 
can  spend  their  leisure  in  learning  to  read  and  write.  No 
spirits  are  sold— an  example  of  removing  temptation  from 
the  native  which  it  is  to  be  wished  that  the  legislature  of 
Cape  Colony  would  follow.  Every  entrance  is  strictly 
guarded,  and  no  visitors,  white  or  native,  are  permitted, 
all  supplies  being  obtained  from  the  store  within,  kept  by 
the  Company.  The  De  Beers  mine  compound  contained 
at  the  time  of  my  visit  2G00  natives,  belonging  to  a  great 
variety  of  tribes,  so  that  here  one  could  see  specimens 
of  the  different  native  types,  from  Natal  and  Pondoland 
on  the  south,  to  the  shores  of  Lake  Tanganyika  in  the 


■'  (.' 


FUUM   CAI'K  TOWN   To   HILAWAVO 


LM).j 


far  north.  They  eoino  from  every  «[uiirter,  attracted  l)y 
the  liit'li  wages,  usually  eifjfhteeii  to  thirty  shillings  a 
week,  and  remain  tor  a  few  werks  or  mouths,  and  oeca 
sioually  even  for  lonp'r  periods,  knowiujjf,  of  course,  that 
thev  have  to  submit  to  the  precautions  whicli  are  ahsolutelv 
needed  to  prevent  them  from  appropriating  the  dianioiuls 
they  nuiy  happen  to  find  in  the  course  of  their  .»'ork.  To 
em'ourage  honesty,  ten  per  cent,  of  the  value  of  any  stone 
whicli  a  worknnm  mav  find  is  given  to  him  if  he  ]>rin«'s 
it  himself  to  the  over.seer,  and  the  value  of  the  ston«'s  on 
which  this  ten  per  cent,  is  paid  is  estimated  at  four  !iun- 
dred  thousand  pounds  (tvo  milli<."i  dollars)  in  each  year. 
Nevertheless,  a  certain  number  of  thefts  occur.  I  heard 
from  a  missionary  an  anecdote  of  a  Basuto  who,  after 
his  return  from  Kimberley,  was  describing  how,  on  one 
occasion,  his  eye  fell  on  a  valuable  diamond  in  the  (day 
he  was  breaking  into  fragments.  While  he  was  endeavor- 
ing to  pick  it  nj)  he  perceived  the  overseer  approaching, 
and,  having  it  by  this  time  in  his  hand,  was  for  a  moment 
terribly  frightened,  the  punishment  fo*'  theft  being  very 
severe.  The  overseer,  however,  j)assed  on.  **  And  tluMi," 
said  the  Basuto,  "I  knew  that  there  was  indeed  a  CJod, 
for  he  had  preserved  me." 

Wlien  the  native  has  earned  the  sum  he  wants— and  his 
earnings  accumulate  (piickly,  since  he  can  live  upon  very 
little— he  takes  his  wages  in  English  sovereigns,  a  coin 
now  current  through  all  Africa  as  far  as  Tanganyika, 
goes  home  to  his  own  tril)e,  perhaps  a  month's  or  six 
weeks'  journey  distant,  buys  two  oxen,  buys  with  them  a 
wife,  and  lives  happih',  or  at  least  lazily,  ever  after.  Here 
il  the  vast  oblong  compound  one  sees  Zulus  from  Natal, 
Fimgos,  Pondos,  Tembus,  Basutos,  Bechuanas,  Gungun- 
hana's  subjects  from  the  Portuguese  territories,  some  few 


I   I 


H 


f(^ 


m 


VI 


200 


IMI'KESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFKIOA 


M'  /  ' 


k' 


ill 


'<! 


^Matabili  and  Makalalia,  and  plenty  of  Zam])Osi  boys  fi'om 
tlie  ti'ibos  on  ])otli  sides  (»f  that  great  river— a  living 
ethnological  collection  such  as  can  be  examined  nowhere 
else  in  South  Africa,  Even  Bushmen,  or  ut  least  natives 
with  some  Bushnum  blood  in  them,  are  not  wanting.  They 
live  peaceably  together,  and  amuse  themselves  in  their 
several  ways  during  their  leisure  hours.  Besides  games 
of  chance,  we  saw  n  game  resembling  "fox  and  geese," 
played  with  pebbles  on  a  board;  and  music  was  being 
discoursed  on  two  rude  native  instruments,  the  so-called 
"  Kafir  piano,"  made  of  pieces  of  iron  of  unequal  length 
fastened  side  by  side  in  a  frame,  and  a  still  ruder  contri- 
vance of  hard  bits  of  wood,  also  of  unequal  size,  which 
when  struck  by  a  stick  emit  different  notes,  the  first  be- 
ginnings of  a  tune.  A  very  few  were  reading  or  writing 
letters,  the  rest  busy  with  their  cooking  or  talking  to  one 
another.  Some  tribes  are  ncessant  talkers,  and  in  this 
strange  mixing-pot  of  blr  ;k  men  one  may  hear  a  dozen 
languages  spoken  as  one  passes  from  group  to  group. 

The  clinuite  of  Kimberley  is  healthy,  and  even  bracing, 
though  not  pleasant  when  a  northwest  wind  from  the  Ka- 
lahari Desert  fills  Mie  air  with  sand  and  dust.    Its  drvness 

« 

recommends  it  as  a  resort  for  consumptive  patients, 
while  the  existence  of  a  cultivated,  though  small,  society 
makes  it  a  less  doleful  place  of  residence  than  are  the 
sanatoria  of  the  Karroo.  The  country  round  is,  however, 
far  from  attractive.  Save  on  the  east,  where  there  rises  a 
line  of  hills  just  high  enough  to  catch  the  lovely  lights  of 
evening  and  give  color  and  variety  to  the  landscape,  the 
]>rospect  is  monotonous  in  every  direction.  Like  the  ocean, 
this  vast  plain  is  so  fiat  that  you  cannot  see  how  vast  it  is. 
Except  in  the  environs  of  the  town,  it  is  unbroken  by  tree 
or  house,  and  in  a  part  of  those  environs  the  masses  of 


FROM   CAPE   TOWN   TO  BULAWAYO 


207 


bhiisli-gray  iiiiiie  refuse  that  strew  the  ground  give  ji 
(lisiiuil  and  even  sijualid  air  to  the  foreground  of  tlie 
view.  One  is  reminded  of  the  deserted  coal-pits  tliat 
surround  Wigan,  or  the  burnt-out  and  waste  parts  of 
the  Bhiek  Country  in  South  Stafford  si  lire,  thougli  at 
Kiniberley  there  is,  liappily,  no  eoal-snioke  or  sulphui-ous 
fumos  in  tlie  air,  no  cinder  on  tlie  surface,  no  coal-dust  to 
thicken  the  mud  and  blacken  the  roads.  Some  squalor 
one  must  have  with  that  disturbance  of  nature  which 
mining  involves,  but  here  the  enlightened  activity  of  the 
Company  and  the  settlers  has  done  its  best  to  mitigate 
these  evils  by  the  planting  of  trees  and  orchards,  by  the 
taste  which  many  of  the  private  houses  show,  and  by  the 
provision  here  and  there  of  open  spaces  for  games. 

From  Kiniberley  the  newly  opened  railway  runs  one 
hundred  and  fiftv  miles  farther  north  to  Vrvl)urg,  till  lattdv 
the  capital  of  the  Crown  Colony  of  British  BechuanalaiKl, 
Minexed  in  1895  to  Cape  Colony,  and  thence  to  Mafeking. 
After  a  fev/  miles  the  line  crosses  the  Yaal  River,  here  a 
respectable  stream  for  South  Africa,  since  it  has,  even  in 
the  dry  season,  more  water  than  the  Cam  at  Cambri<lg(\ 
or  the  Cherwell  at  Oxford— perhaps  as  much  as  the  Arno 
at  Florence.  It  tlows  in  a  wide,  rocky  bed,  a])out  thirty  feet 
below  the  level  of  the  adjoining  country.  The  country 
becomes  more  undulating  as  the  line  approaches  the 
frontiers,  first  of  the  Orange  Free  State,  and  then  of  the 
Transvaal  Republic,  Avhich  bounds  that  state  on  the  north. 
Bushes  are  seen,  and  presently  trees,  nearly  all  j)i"i('kly 
7niniosas,  small  and  unattractive,  but  a  pleasant  relief 
from  the  bare  fiats  of  Kimberlev,  whence  all  the  wood 
that  formerly  grew  there  has  been  taken  for  mine  pro])s 
and  for  fuel.  There  is  more  grass,  too,  and  j)resently 
patches   of   cultivated  land  appear,   where   Kafirs  grow 


I 


)         Iff     ^ 


i( 


li 


208 


IMPKES8I()NS   OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


!(! 


r 


^\' 


if    •    I 


maize,  (tailed  in  South  Africa  "mealies,"  Xear  the  village 
of  Tauuji^s  1  a  larji^e  native  reservation  is  passed,  where 
j)art  of  the  Bailapin  tribe  is  settled,  and  here  a  good 
deal  of  ground  is  tilled,  though  in  September,  when 
no  crop  is  visible,  one  scarcely  notices  the  fields,  since 
tliey  are  entirely  unindosed,  mere  strii)s  on  the  veldt,  a 
little  browner  than  the  rest,  and  witli  fewer  shrublets 
on  them.  But  the  landscape  remains  equally  featureless 
and  monotonous,  redeemed  only,  as  evening  falls,  by  the 
tints  of  purple  and  violet  which  glow  upon  the  low 
ridges  or  swells  of  ground  that  rise  in  the  distance.  Vry- 
burg  is  a  cheerful  little  place  of  brick  walls  and  corrugated- 
iron  roofs ;  Mafeking  another  such,  still  smaller,  and,  being 
newer,  with  a  still  larger  proportion  of  shanties  to  houses. 
At  Mafeking,  eight  hundred  and  seventy-five  miles  from 
Cape  Town,  the  railway  ended  in  1895  (though  now,  in 
January,  1897,  it  is  being  opened  to  the  hamlet  of 
Gaberones  [pronounced  "Haberoons"],  ninety-six  miles 
farther  north).  Here  ends  also  the  territory  of  Cape 
Colonv,  the  rest  of  Bechuanaland  to  the  north  and  west 
forming  the  so-called  Bechuanaland  Protectorate,  which 
in  October,  189."),  was  handed  over  by  the  Colonial  Office, 
su)>ject  to  certain  restrictions  and  provisions  for  the 
benefit  of  the  natives,  to  the  British  South  Africa  Com- 
pany, within  the  sphere  of  whose  operations  it  had,  by 
the  charter  of  1890,  been  included.  After  the  invasion 
of  the  Transvaal  Republic  by  the  expedition  led  by  Dr. 
Jameson,  which  started  from  Pitsani,  a  few  miles  noi'th 
of  Mafeking,  in  December,  1895,  this  transfer  was  recalled, 
and  Bechuanaland  is  now  again  under  the  direct  control 

1  Heiv,  in  Decembor,  189G,  the  natives  rose  in  revolt,  exasperated 
by  tlie  slaughter  of  tlieir  eattlo,  though  that  slaughter  was  the  only 
nu'thod  of  cheeking  the  progress  of  the  cattle-plague. 


■I 


^    ii 


li 


FROM  CAPE  TOWN  TO  BULAWAYO 


L'Ol) 


of  tlie  Hifrli  Coniniissioner  for  South  Afric^a  as  represent- 
ing the  British  crown.  It  is  administered  by  niajj^istrates, 
wlio  have  a  force  of  pohce  at  tlieir  command,  and  by  native 
chiefs,  the  most  powerml  and  famous  of  whom  is  Klianui. 
Hose  to  Miifekin*;  itself  tliere  was  livin«;achieftainwliose 
lonjjc  career  is  interwoven  with  manv  of  the  wars  and  raids 
that  went  on  between  the  Boers  and  the  natives  from  1840 
to  1 88.")— ^Nlontsioa  (pronounced  "  Montsiwa  "),  the  head  of  a 
tri])e  of  Baroionjj^s,  We  were  taken  to  see  him,  and  found 
liim  sitting  on  a  low  chair  under  a  tree  in  the  midst  of  his 
huge  native  village,  dressed  in  a  red  tiannel  shirt,  a  i)air  of 
corduroy  trousers,  and  a  broad  gray  felt  hat  with  a  jackal's 
tail  stuck  in  it  for  ornament.  His  short,  woolly  hair  was 
white,  and  his  chocolate-colored  skin,  hard  ard  tough  like 
that  of  a  rhinoceros,  was  covered  with  a  fi'etwork  of  tiny 
wrinkles,  such  as  one  seldom  sees  on  a  Euroj)ean  face.  He 
was  i)roud  of  his  great  age  (eighty-five),  and  rec^alled  the 
names  of  several  British  governors  and  generals  during 
the  last  seventy  years.  But  his  chief  iriterest  was  in  in- 
quiries (through  his  interpreter)  regarding  the  Queen  and 
events  in  England,  and  lie  amused  his  visitors  by  the 
dii)lomatic  shrewdness  witli  which,  on  l)eing  told  that 
there  had  Ix'cn  a  change  of  government  in  England,  and 
a  nuijority  in  favor  of  the  new  government,  he  observed, 
"Thcv  have  made  a  mistake:  thev  could  not  have  had  a 
better  govoi-nment  than  the  old  one."  He  was  a  wealthy 
man,  (►wning  an  immense  number  of  the  oxen  which  used 
to  carry  on  (for  the  cattle-plague  has  now  carried  off  most 
of  them)  the  transport  service  between  IMaf eking  and  Bnla- 
waj'O  ;  and,  from  all  I  could  learn,  he  ruled  his  people  well, 
following  the  counsels  of  the  British  government,  which 
in  1885  delivered  him  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Boers.  He 
died  in  the  middle  of  1896. 

14 


I )   a 


m 


ill 

m 

■if 


'U 


u 


I. 


I 


210 


IMPRESSIONS   OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


I  ? 


At  Mafekiiii;  we  bad*';  farewell  to  the  rjiilwav,  nral  pre- 
pared to  i)luiige  into  the  wilderness.  We  tra>  ^iku  in  a. 
li^''ht  Ameriean  wag:on,  having  a  Ca})e  Dutchman  as  driver 
and  a  colored  "  Cape  boy"  to  help  him,  but  no  other  atten- 
dants. The  wagon  had  a  small  iron  tank,  which  we  filled 
with  water  that  had  been  boiled  to  kill  the  noxious  genns, 
and  with  this  we  made  our  soup  and  tea.  For  provisions 
we  earri(Hl  biscuits,  a  little  tinned  soup  and  meat,  and  ii 
few  bottles  of  soda-water.  These  last  proved  to  be  the  most 
nseful  part  of  our  stores,  for  the  stream-  or  well-water 
along  the  route  was  un drinkable,  and  our  mouths  were 
often  so  parched  that  it  was  only  by  the  help  of  sips  of 
soda-water  that  we  could  succeed  in  swallowing  the  drv 
food.  At  the  European  stores  which  occur  along  the  road, 
nsually  at  intervals  of  thirty  or  forty  miles,  thougli  some- 
times there  is  none  for  sixtv  miles  or  more,  we  could  often 
procure  eggs  and  sometimes  a  lean  chicken;  so  there  was 
enough  to  support  life,  though  we  seldom  got  what  i^  '.'ailed 
in  America  "  a  square  meal." 

Northward  from  Mafeking  the  country  grows  ])retty. 
At  first  there  are  trees  scattered  picturescpiely  over  the 
undulating  pastures  and  sometimes  forming  woods—dry 
and  open  woods,  yet  welcome  after  the  bareness  whicli 
one  has  left  behind.  Here  'vc  passed  the  tiny  group  of 
houses  called  Pitsani,  lit^M'  tii-'aming  that  three  months 
later  it  would  become  fanunis  ■ ;,  the  place  where  the  Mata- 
bililand  police  were  marshaled,  and  from  which  they  started 
on  their  ill-starred  march  into  the  Transvaal,  whose  hills 
we  saw  a  few  miles  away  to  the  east.  Presently  the  ground 
becomes  rougher,  and  the  track  winds  among  and  under  a 
succession  of  al  *rupt  kopjes  (pronounced  "  koppies  "),  mostly 
of  granitic  or  gneissose  rock.  One  is  surprised  that  a  heavy 
coach,  and  still  heavier  wagons,  can  so  easily  traverse  such 


I       I 


FKOM   CAr>E  TOWN   TO  BULAWAYO 


L'll 


a  countrv,  for  tlie  ruad  is  oiilv  a  truck,  for  wliicli  art  }ias 
(lone  notliing  save  in  cutting  a  way  through  tlie  trees.  It 
is  one  of  tlie  curious  features  of  South  Africa  tliat  tlie  rocky 
hilks  have  an  unusiuil  faculty  for  standing  detached  enougli 
from  one  another  to  allow  wheeled  vehicles  to  pass  be- 
tween them,  and  the  country-  is  so  dry  that  morasses,  the 
obstacle  which  a  driver  chietiv  ferrs  in  most  countries,  are 
here,  for  three  fourths  of  the  year,  not  feared  at  alL 
Til  is  region  of  bold,  craggy  hills,  .sparsely  wooded,  usually 
rising  only  some  few  hundred  feet  out  of  the  plateau  itself, 
which  is  about  4000  feet  above  the  sea,  continues  for 
about  thirt}'  miles.  To  it  there  succeeds  a  long  stretch  of 
fiat  laiMJ  along  the  banks  of  the  sluggish  Notwani,  the  only 
perennial  river  of  these  parts;  for  the  stream  which  on 
the  map  bears  the  name  of  Molopo,  and  runs  away  west 
into  the  desert  to  lose  nearly  all  of  its  water  in  the  sands, 
is  in  September  dry,  and  one  crosses  its  channel  without 
noticing  it.  This  Xotwani,  whose  course  is  marked  t)y  a 
line  of  trees  taller  and  greener  than  the  rest,  is  at  this 
season  no  better  than  a  feel)le  brook,  flowing  slowly,  witli 
more  mud  than  water.  But  it  contains  not  only  good- 
sized  fish,  the  catching  of  which  is  the  chief  holiday  di- 
version of  these  parts,  but  also  crocodiles,  which,  generally 
dormant  during  the  season  of  low  water,  are  apt  to  ob- 
trude themselves  when  they  are  least  exi)ected,  and  would 
make  bathing  dangerous,  were  there  any  temptation  to 
bathe  in  such  a  thick  green  fluid.  That  men  as  well  as 
cattle  should  drink  it  seems  surprising,  ye  they  do,— 
Europeans  as  well  as  natives,— and  apparently  with  no 
bad  etfects.  Below  Palla,  one  hundred  and  ninety-five 
miles  nortli  of  Mafeking,  the  Notwani  joins  the  Limpopo, 
or  Crocodile  Kiver,  a  much  larger  str  am,  Avhich  has 
come  down  from  the  Transvaal  hill;*,  and  winds  for  nearly 


m 


Pi 


212 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


I 


I   ii 


i .  u 


a  thousand  iiiiles  to  the  north  and  east  before  it  falls 
into  the  Indian  Ocean.  It  is  here  nearly  as  wide  as  the 
Thames  at  Heniey,  foi-dabie  in  some  places,  and  flov/ing 
very  jj^ently.  The  country  all  alonj;  this  i)art  of  the  road 
is  perfectly  flat,  and  just  after  the  wet  season  very  fevei-- 
ish,  but  it  may  be  traversed  with  impunity  f?'om  the  end 
of  Mav  till  December.  It  is  a  dull  reunion— evervwhei'e 
the  same  thin  wood,  throuj^h  which  one  can  see  for  about 
a  (piarter  of  a  mile  in  every  direction,  consisting  of 
two  or  tliree  kinds  of  mimosa,  all  thorny,  and  all  so 
spare  and  starved  in  their  leafage  that  one  gets  litde 
shade  beneath  them  wlien  at  the  midday  ludt  slielter  lui  ' 
to  ])e  sought  from  the  formidable  sun.  On  the  parched 
ground  there  is  an  undergrowth  of  prickly  shrubs, 
among  which  it  is  necessarv  to  move  with  as  much  care  as 
is  needed  in  climbing  a  barbed- wire  fence.  When  at  night, 
camping  out  on  the  veldt,  on«,'  gathers  brushwood  to  light 
the  cooking-fire,  both  the  clothes  and  the  hands  of  the 
novice  come  badly  off.  Huge  ant-hills  begin  to  appear, 
sometimes  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  high  and  as  many  yards 
in  cin'umf  entice ;  but  these  large  ones  are  all  dead  and  may 
be  of  considerable  age.  In  some  places  they  are  so  high 
and  steep,  and  stand  so  close  together,  that  by  joining  them 
with  an  earthen  rampart  a  strong  fort  might  be  made. 
When  p '<  pie  begin  to  till  the  ground  more  largely  than 
the  natives  now  do.  the  soil  heaped  up  in  these  great  mounds 
will  be  found  most  serviceable.  It  consists  of  good  mold, 
very  filable,  and  when  spread  out  over  the  surface  ought 
to  prove  very  fertile,  In  pulverizing  the  soil,  the  ants 
runnier  here  much  the  same  kind  of  service  which  the 
earchworn-  does  in  Ei. .  >pe.  There  are  no  flowers  at  this 
season  '^nd  of  September),  and  very  little  grass;  yet  men 
sav  that  thi-re  is  no  b(itter  rancliing  country  in  all  South 


FROM   CAPE   TOWN   TO  BULAWAYO 


o 


1:3 


Africa,  ami  the  oxen  wlncli  one  meets  all  the  way,  feeding 
round  the  spots  where  tlie  transport-wa<j:ons  have  halted, 
evidently  manage  to  pick  up  enough  herhage  to  support 
them.  The  number  of  ox-wagons  is  surprising  in  so 
lonelv  a  eountrv,  till  one  remembers  that  most  of  the 
food  and  drink,  as  well  as  of  the  furniture,  agricultural 
and  mining  tools,  and  wood  for  building,— indeed,  most 
of  the  necessaries  and  all  the  luxuries  of  life  needed 
in  Matabililand,— have  to  be  sent  up  along  this  road, 
which  is  more  used  than  the  alternative  route  through 
the  Transvaal  from  I*retoria  riu  Pietersburg.  No 
wonder  all  sorts  of  articles  are  costly  in  Bulawayo, 
when  it  has  taken  eight  or  ten  weeks  to  bring  them 
from  the  nearest  railwjiy  terminus.  The  wagons  do 
most  of  their  journeying  by  night,  allowing  the  oxen  to 
rest  during  the  heat  of  tliedav.  One  of  tlie  minor  troubles 
of  travel  is  the  meeti.iig  by  one's  vehicle  of  a  string  of 
wagons,  sometimes  nea.'dy  a  cpiarter  of  a  mile  long,  for 
each  wagon  has  eight  .)r  nine,  or  even  ten,  span  of  oxen. 
They  move  very  slowly,  and  at  night,  when  the  track 
happens  to  be  a  narrow  one  among  trees,  it  is  not 
easy  to  get  past.  Except  for  these  wagons  the  road  is" 
lonely.  One  sees  few  natives,  though  the  narrow  foot- 
paths crossing  the  wagon-track  show  that  the  country  is 
inhabited.  Here  and  there  one  passes  a  large  native 
village,  such  as  Ramoutsie  and  IMacliudi,  but  small  ham- 
lets are  rare,  and  solitary  huts  still  rarer.  The  country  is 
of  course  very  thinly  peopled  in  proportion  to  its  resources, 
for,  what  with  the  good  i)asture  nearly  everywhere  and 
the  fertile  land  in  many  places,  it  could  support  eight  or  ten 
times  the  number  of  Barolongs,  Bamangwato,  and  other 
Bechuanas  who  now  live  scattered  over  its  vast  area.  It  is 
not  the  beasts  of  prey  that  are  to  blame  for  this,  for,  with 

14* 


M 


m 


t 


1^  I 


' 


h '  1 


Wl 


^ 


i:  * 


H 

i 

11     !l 


LMI'KESSIONS   OV   ttOUTII   AFICUJA 

the  disappearance  of  game,  lions  have  become  extremely 
seai'ce,  and  leopards  and  lynxes  are  uo  longer  common. 
Few  quadrupeds  are  st'tn,  aiul  not  many  kinds  of  birds. 
Vultures,  hawks,  and  a  species  something  like  a  nuigpic, 
with  four  prei.ty  white  i^atclx's  upon  the  wings  and  a  long 
tail, are  the  commonest,  together  with  l»luish-gray  guinea- 
fowl,  pig(!ons,  and  sometinies  a  small  i>artridge.  In 
some  parts  there  are  ])lenty  of  bustards,  prized  as  dainti«'S, 
but  we  saw  vei'v  few.  Away  from  the  track  some  buck 
of  the  comnK)ner  kinds  may  still  be  found,  and  farther  to 
the  west  there  is  still  plenty  of  big  game  in  the  Kalahari 
Desert.  But  the  region  which  we  traversed  is  almost  as 
unattractive  to  the  s[)ortsman  as  it  is  to  the  lover  of  beauty. 
It  is,  indeed,  one  of  the  dullest  parts  of  South  Africa. 

The  next  stage  in  the  journey  is  nmrkedl»yPalapsh wye, 
KhJiTua's  capital.  This  is  the  largest  native  town  south  of 
the  Zambesi,  for  it  has  a  i)opulation  estimated  at  over 
20,000.  It  came  into  being  only  a  few  years  ago,  when 
Khama,  having  returned  from  the  exile  to  which  his  father 
had  consigned  him  on  account  of  his  steadfast  adherence  to 
Christianity,  and  having  succeeded  to  the  chieftainship  of 
the  Bamangwato,  moved  the  tribe  from  its  previous 
dwelling-place  at  Shoshong,  some  eighty  miles  to  the  south- 
west, and  fixed  it  here.  Such  migrations  and  founda- 
tions of  new  towns  are  not  uncommon  in  South  Africa, 
as  they  were  not  uncommon  in  India  in  the  days  of  the 
Pathan  and  Mogul  sovereigns,  when  each  new  occui)ant 
of  the  throne  generally  chose  a  new  residence  to  fortify 
or  adorn.  Why  this  particular  site  was  chosen  I  do  not 
know.  It  stands  high,  and  is  free  from  nuilaria,  and  there 
are  springs  of  water  in  the  craggy  hill  behind ;  but  the 
country  all  round  is  ])oor,  rocky  in  some  ])laces,  sandy  in 
others,    and   less   attractive   than    some    other   parts   oi 


I 


-i 


,h 


ti 


FROM   CAI'E   TOWN   TO   BL'LAWAYO 


U15 


Beclmaiialaiid.  AVc  entered  the  town  late  :u,  ni«;lit, 
delayed  by  the  deep  sand  on  tlio  traek,  and  wandered 
about  for  a  lon<j:  while  before,  after  knocking'  at  one  hut 
after  another,  we  could  persuade  any  native  to  eonie  <»ut 
and  show  us  the  way  to  the  little  cluster  of  European 
dwellin^^s.  Tlu;  Kalirs  are  terribly  afraid  of  the  ni<;ht, 
and  fear  the  j;'hosts,  which  are  to  them  the  powers  of 
darkness,  more  than  thev  care  for  ort'ers  of  nionev. 

Khama  was  absent  in  iMigland,  ])i'essinp^  u[)on  the 
Colonial  OflR"e  his  objectiims  to  the  denumd  nuule  by  the 
British  South  Africa  Company  that  his  kingdom  should 
be  broufrht  within  the  scope  of  their  administration  and  a 
railway  constructed  thrt)ujili  it  frcmi  Mafekinj^  to  liula- 
wavo.  Besides  the  natural  wish  of  a  monarch  to  retain 
his  autlnirity  undiminished,  he  was  nnn'ed  by  the  desire 
to  keep  his  subjects  fnmi  the  use  of  intoxicating  spirits, 
a  practice  which  the  establisliment  of  white  men  among 
them  wcnild  make  it  difficult,  if  not  imj)ossible,  to  j)revent. 
Thenuiiii  object  of  Khama'slife  and  rule  has  been  to  keep 
his  peoj)le  from  intoxicants.  His  feelings  were  express(Hl 
in  a  letter  to  a  l^ritish  commissioner,  in  whicih  he  said : 
"  I  fear  Lo  Bengula  less  than  I  fear  brandy.  I  fought 
against  Lo  Bengula  and  drove  him  back.  lie  never 
gives  nie  a  sleepless  night.  But  to  fight  against  drink  is 
to  fight  against  demons  and  not  men.  I  fear  the  white 
man's  drink  more  than  the  assagais  of  the  Matabili, 
which  kill  men's  bodies.  Drink  puts  devils  into  men  and 
destroys  their  souls  and  bodies."  Though  a  Christian  him- 
self, and  giving  the  missionaries  in  his  dominions  every 
facility  for  their  work,  he  has  never  attem})ted  to  nuike 
(converts  by  force.  A  prohibition  of  tlie  use  of  alcohol, 
however,  has  seemed  to  him  to  lie  '*  within  the  si)here  of 
governmental  action,"  and  lie  lias,  indeed,  imperiled  his 


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throne  l)y  efforts  to  prevent  the  Bunian^wjito  from 
making'  and  drinking  tlie  stronger  kind  of  Kalir  beer,  to 
which,  like  all  natives,  they  were  inu<'h  addieti'd.'  This 
})eer  is  made  from  th(^  so-ealled  '' KaHr-<;oru "  (a  grain 
resembling  millet,  eommoidy  cultivated  by  the  natives), 
and,  though  less  strong  than  European-nuide  spirits, 
is  more  intoxicating  than  (u'rman  or  even  English 
ale.  Khanui's  prohibition  of  it  ha<l,  shortly  ))efore  my 
visit,  led  to  a  revolt  and  threatened  s<'cessiou  of  a  })art  of 
the  tribe  under  his  younger  brother,  Hudiclani,and  the  royal 
reformer  (himself  a  stri<*-t  total  abstainer)  had  been  com- 
pelled to  give  way,  lamenting,  in  a  pathetics  speech,  that 
his  subjects  would  not  sutfer  him  to  <lo  what  was  l)est  f(»r 
them.  Just  about  tin;  same  time,  in  England,  the  proposal 
(►f  a  measure  to  cheek  the  nse  of  intoxicating  li(juors  led 
to  the  overthrow  of  a  great  party  and  clouded  the  pros- 
pects of  any  temperan(!e  legislation.  Alike  in  Britain  and 
in  Bechuanaland  it  is  no  light  matter  to  interfere  with 
a  people's  favorite  indulg<'nces.  Euroi)ean  si)ii'its  are, 
however,  so  much  more  deleterious  than  Kafir  beer  that 
Khama  still  fought  hard  against  their  introduction.  The 
British  South  Africa  Company  forbids  the  sale  of  in- 
toxicants to  natives  in  its  territory,  but  Khama  natu- 
rally felt  that  when  at  railway-stations  and  stores  si)irits 
were  being  freely  consumed  by  whites  the  difficulty  of 
ke3ping  them  from  natives  would  be  largely  increased. 
The  Colonial  Office  gave  leave  for  the  construction  of 
the  railway,  and  l)rought  Khama  into  closer  relations  with 
the  Company,  while  securing  to  him  a  large  reserve  and 
establishing  certain  provisions  for  his  benefit  and  that  of 
his  people.    However,  a  few  months  later  (in  the  beginning 

1  There  is  also  a  weaker  kiud  made,  intoxicating  only  if  consumed 
in  very  large  quantity. 


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FHUM    CAI'K   TOWN    To    Bl'LAWAYo 


21 


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of  ISDO)  tlio  extension  of  \\w  ('om|uniy's  powers  as  to 
IW'cluiiuialjind  was  ivcallcd,  and  Kliaiiia  is  ii<tw  under  the 
<lireet  j)r()teeti(»n  of  the  Imperial  (iovernnient. 

His  kihi^doni  covers  on  the  map  a  vast  hut  ill-(h'tined 
area,  stretcliin<;  on  the  west  into  the  Kahihari  Desert,  and 
on  the  nortliwest  int(.  the  tliiidy  peoph'd  country  round 
Lake  Nj^ami,  wliere  various  small  trihes  live  in  pra<'ti<'al 
independence.  Sovereijjnty  amon^'  African  natives  is 
tribal  rather  tliaii  territorial.  Khama  is  the  chief  of  the 
Baman^'uato  rather  than  ruler  of  a  country,  and  where 
the  Banian^'wat(>  live  there  Khaimi  reijrns.  Prohaldy  two 
thirds  of  them  live  in  or  near  Palapshwye.  l^orn  ahr)ut 
IS.IO,  he  is  by  far  the  most  remarkable  Kalir  now  liviiifj:  in 
South  Africa,  for  he  has  shown  a  tact,  jn-udence,  and  tena- 
city of  jmrpose  which  would  have  done  credit  to  a  Ku- 
rojtean  statesman.  He  was  converted  to  Christianity 
while  still  a  l)oy,  and  liad  much  pers(M'ution  to  endure  at 
the  hands  of  his  heathen  father,  who  at  last  banished 
him  for  refusing;  to  take  a  second  wif«'.  What  is  not  less 
remarkable,  he  has  carried  his  Christianity  into  practice, 
evincing  both  a  sense  of  honor  as  well  as  a  humanity 
whi<'h  has  nuule  him  the  special  protector  of  the  old  and 
the  weak,  aiul  even  of  the  Bushmen  who  serve  the  Ba- 
mangwato.  Regarded  as  fij^hters,  his  people  are  far  ni- 
ferior  to  the  3Iatabili,  and  he  was  often  in  danjjier  of  bein«r 
overpowered  by  the  fierce  and  rapacious  ho  Benjrula. 
As  early  as  1802  he  crossed  assajjais  with  aiul  defeated 
a  Matal)ili  inipi  (war-band),  earning  the  jiraise  of  the 
grim  Mosilikatze,  who  said,  '"Khama  is  a  man.  There 
is  no  other  man  among  the  Bamangwato."  Though  fre- 
quently thereafter  threatened  nm\  sometimes  attacked, 
he  succeeded,  by  his  skilful  j)olicy,  in  avoiding  any  serious 
war  until  the  fall  of  Lo  Bengula  in  1893.     Seeing  the  tide 


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218 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


(if  wliite  conquest  rising  all  round  liim,  lie  has  had  a  diflft- 
(!ult  problem  to  face,  and  it  is  not  surprising:  that  he  has 
been  less  eager  to  welcome  the  Company  and  its  railway 
than  those  who  considered  him  the  white  man's  friend  had 
expected.  The  (doming  of  the  whites  means  not  only  the 
coming  of  liquor,  but  the  gradual  occupation  of  the  large 
open  tracts  where  the  natives  have  hunted  and  pastured 
their  cattle,  and  a  change  in  their  mode  of  life,  which, 
inevitable  as  it  may  be,  a  patriotic  chief  may  naturally 
wish  to  delay. 

Palapshwye,  the  largest  native  town  south  of  the  Zam- 
besi, is  an  immense  mass  of  huts,  planted  without  the 
snuiUest  attempt  at  order  over  the  sandy  hill  sh)pe,  some 
two  square  miles  in  extent.  The  huts  are  small,  with  low 
walls  of  clay  and  roofs  of  grass,  so  that  from  a  distance 
the  place  looks  like  a  wilderness  of  beehives.  Each  of  the 
chief  men  has  liis  own  hut  and  those  of  his  wives  inclosed 
in  a  rough  fence  of  thorns,  or  perhaps  of  prickly-pear, 
and  between  the  groups  of  huts  lie  open  spaces  of  sand 
or  dustv  tracks.  In  the  middle  of  the  town,  close  to  the 
huts  of  Khania  himself,  who,  however,  being  a  Christian, 
has  but  one  wife,  stands  the  great  kraal,  or  lothla.  It  is  an 
inclosure  some  three  hundred  yards  in  circumfereace,  sur- 
rounded by  a  stockade  ten  feet  high,  made  of  dry  trunks  and 
boughs  of  trees  stuck  in  the  ground  so  close  together  that 
one  could  not  even  shoot  a  gun  or  hurl  an  assagai  through 
them.  This  stockade  might  resist  the  first  attack  of  native 
enemies  if  the  rest  of  the  town  had  been  captured,  but  it 
would  soon  yield  to  fire.  In  the  middle  of  it  stands  the 
now  dry  trunk  of  an  old  tree,  spared  when  the  other  trees 
were  cut  down  to  make  the  kraal,  because  it  was  supposed 
to  have  magical  powers  and  heal  those  who  touched  it. 
A  heap  of  giraife  skins  lay  piled  against  it,  but  its  healing 


FROM   CAPE   TOWN   TO   Bl'LAWAYO 


219 


capacity  now  liiids  loss  credit,  at  least  aiiionj;  those  who 
wish  to  stand  well  with  the  chief.  Within  this  ineh»snre 
Khania  holds  his  p^neral  assemhlies  when  he  has  some 
address  to  deli\('V  to  the  i)eople  or  some  ordinance  to 
proclaim.  He  administers  criminal  justice  amoni;  the 
people  and  decides  their  civil  disputes,  usually  with  the 
aid  of  one  or  two  elderly  counselors,  lie  has  tried  to 
im]>rove  their  agricultural  methods,  and,  beinir  fond  of 
horses,  has  formed  a  good  stud.  Unhappily,  in  1S9()  the 
great  murrain  descended  upon  the  Bamangwato,  and 
Khama  and  his  tribe  have  lost  nearlv  all  the  cattle  (said 
to  have  numbered  eight  hundred  thousand)  in  which  their 
wealth  consisted. 

The  British  magistrate— there  are  al)0ut  seventy  Euro- 
peans living  in  the  town— described  these  Bechuanas  as  a 
quiet  folk,  not  hard  to  manag(?.  They  have  less  force  of 
character  and  much  less  taste  for  fighting  than  Zulus  or 
Matabili.  The  main  impression  which  they  leave  on  a 
stranger  is  that  of  laziness.  Of  tlie  many  whom  we  saw 
hanging  about  in  the  sun,  hardly  one  seemed  to  be  doing 
an}'  kind  of  work.  Nor  do  they.  They  grow  a  few  menlies 
(maize),  but  it  is  chiefly  the  women  who  hoe  and  plant  the 
ground.  They  know  how  to  handle  wire  and  twist  it 
round  the  handles  of  the  sj((tnhol's  (whips  of  hippopotamus 
hide).  But,  having  few  wjints  and  no  ambition,  they  have 
practically  no  industries,  and  sjjend  their  lives  in  sleeping, 
loafing,  and  talking.  When  one  watches  such  a  ra(H\  it 
seems  all  the  stranger  that  a  num  of  such  renuirkable  force 
of  character  as  Khama  should  suddenly  appear  among 
tliem.i 

I  For  most  of  what  is  here  stated  regarding  Khama  I  am  indebted 
to  an  interesting  little  book  by  the  late  Bishop  Knight-Bruee,  en- 
titled "Khama,  an  African  Chief." 


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220 


IMPKES8I0NS  OF   SOUTH   AFKICA 


For  ahoiit  sixty  miles  northeastward  from  Palapshwye 
the  country  eontinuos  dull,  dry,  and  mostly  level.  Aft<T 
that  roeky  hills  apjx'ar,  and  in  the  beds  of  the  larger 
streams  a  little  water  is  seen.  At  Tati,  ninety  miles  from 
Palapshwye  (nearly  four  hundred  from  ]Mafeking),  gold- 
reefs  have  been  worked  at  intervals  for  five  and  twenty 
years,  under  a  concession  originally  granted  (in  18G9) 
by  Lo  Bengula,  and  a  little  European  settlement  has 
grown  up.  Here  one  passes  from  Bechuanaland  into  the 
territories  which  belonged  to  the  Matabili,  and  now  to  the 
British  South  Africa  Company.  The  country  rises  and 
grows  more  i»ictures((ue.  The  grass  is  greener  on  the 
pastures.  New  trees  appear,  some  of  tliem  with  bej\utiful 
flowers,  and  the  air  is  full  of  tales  of  lions.  For,  in  Africa, 
where  there  is  more  gi'ass  there  is  more  game,  and  where 
there  is  more  game  there  are  more  beasts  of  i)rey.  Lions, 
we  were  told,  had  last  week  dragged  a  Kafir  from  beneath 
a  wagon  where  he  was  sleeping.  Lions  had  been  seen 
yestereve  trotting  before  the  coach.  Lions  would  prol)- 
ably  be  seen  again  to-morrow.  But  to  us  tli(^  beast  was 
always  a  lion  of  yesterday  or  a  lion  of  to-morrow,  never  a 
lion  of  to-dav.  The  most  direct  evidence  we  had  of  his 
presence  was  when,  some  days  later,  we  were  shown  a 
horse  on  which  that  morning  a  lion  had  sprung,  inflict- 
ing terrible  wounds.  The  rider  was  not  touched,  and 
galloped  the  poor  animal  back  to  camp.  At  Mangwe, 
a  pretty  little  station  with  unusually  bad  sleeping  (piar- 
ters,  the  romantic  part  of  the  country  may  be  said  to 
begin.  All  round  there  are  rock}'  kopjes,  and  the  track 
wiiich  leads  northward  follows  a  line  of  hollows  between 
them,  called  the  Mangwe  Pass,  a  point  which  was  of  much 
strategical  importance  in  the  Matabili  war  of  1893,  and 
has  been  again  of  so  much  importance  in  the  recent  native 


FliOM  CAPE  TOWN   To  HULAWAYO 


221 


rising  (1890)  that  one  of  tlie  first  acts  of  th«'  Britisli  an 
thorities  was  to  constrnct  a  ronji^li  fort  in  it  and  phwv  a 
garrison  there.  OtUlly  enough,  tlie  insurg«M:ts  did  not  try 
to  oecupy  it,  and  tliere])y  cut  off  tlie  Englisli  in  MataljiH- 
hind  from  their  railway  l)ase  at  Maf eking,  the  reason 
being,  as  I  am  informed,  that  the  MoJ'ntto,  or  })roi)liet. 
whose  incitements  contributed  to  the  insurrection,  liad 
tokl  them  that  it  was  by  the  road  tln-ough  tliis  j)ass  that 
the  white  strangers  woukl  (luit  the  country  for  ever. 

A  more  peaceful  spot  could  not  be  imagined  than 
the  i)ass  was  when  we  passed  tlirougli  it  at  .">  a.  .m., 
"under  the  opening  eyelids  of  the  dawn."  Smooth  green 
lawns,  each  surrounded  by  a  fring<'  of  wocxl,  and  filled 
with  the  songs  of  awakening  ])irds,  lay  beneath  the  beet- 
ling crags  of  granite,— grnnite  whose  natni-al  gray  was 
hidden  by  brilliant  red  and  yellow  lichens,— and  here  and 
there  a  clear  streamlet  trickled  across  the  path.  Climbing 
to  the  top  of  one  of  these  rocky  masses,  I  enjoyed  a  su- 
l)erb  view  to  north,  w'est,  and  east,  over  a  wilderness  of 
rugged  hills,  with  luge  masses  of  gray  rock  i-ising  out  of 
a  feathery  forest,  while  to  the  n<>rth  the  undulating  line, 
faintly  blue  in  the  far  distance,  nuirked  the  i)oint  when* 
the  plateau  of  central  Matabililand  begins  to  decline  toward 
the  vallej'  of  the  Zambesi.  It  was  a  beautiful  i)rosi)ect  b(>th 
in  the  wild  variety  of  the  foreground  and  in  the  delicate 
hues  of  ridge  after  ridge  melting  away  toward  the  horizon, 
and  it  was  witi.  /.t  a  trace  of  human  life  or  habitation— all 
waste  and  silent,  as  it  came  from  the  hands  of  the  Creator. 

The  track  winds  through  the  hills  for  some  six  or  eight 
miles  before  it  emerges  on  the  more  open  country.  These 
hills,  which  form  a  sort  of  range  running  east-southeast 
and  west-northwest,  are  the  Mato})})*)  Hills,  in  which  the 
main  body  of  the  Matabili  and  other  insurgent  natives 


i 


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222 


IMl'IiESSlONS   OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


ni 


ho.  1  their  p'ound  duriiif^  the  inontlis  of  April,  ^fay,  and 
June,  ISOfi.  Altlioujjfh  the  wood  is  not  very  tliick,  by  no 
means  so  hard  to  i)enetrate  as  the  bnsh  or  low  s(;ru}) 
wliicli  Imflfled  the  British  troops  in  the  early  Kafir  wars, 
wajjcd  on  the  eastern  ])order  of  Cape  Colony,  still  th(! 
jjround  is  so  very  roujj;h,  and  the  tumbled  masses  of  roek 
whieh  lie  round  the  foot  of  the  granite  kopjes  afford  so 
many  spots  for  hiding,  that  the  agile  native,  who  knows 
the  ground,  had  a  far  better  chan(!e  against  the  firearms 
of  the  white  men  than  he  would  have  in  the  open  country 
where  the  battles  of  1893  took  place.  Seeing  such  a 
country,  one  can  wt^ll  understand  that  it  was  quite  as 
much  by  famine  as  by  fighting  that  the  rising  of  1896 
was  brought  to  an  end. 

From  the  northern  end  of  the  Mangwe  Pass  it  is  over 
forty  miles  to  Bulawayo,  the  goal  of  our  journey,  and  the 
starting-point  for  our  return  journey  to  the  coast  of  the 
Indian  Ocean.  But  Bulawayo  is  too  important  a  place  to 
be  dealt  with  at  the  end  of  a  chapter  already  sufficiently 
long. 


,«■'  "  •     ;  i 


CHAPTER  XV 

FROM  BULAWAYO  TO  FORT  SALISBURY -MATABTLTLAND 

AND  :>rASHONALAND 

BULxVWAYO  iiiouns,  in  the  Zulu  toiig-uo,  the  i)lao('  of 
sliiuglitcr,  and  under  tlie  sway  of  Lo  ]iengula  it  de- 
served its  name.  Just  sixty  years  ai^o  3Iosilikatze,  eliief 
of  the  ]\ratabili,  driven  out  of  what  is  now  tlie  Transvaal 
Republic  by  the  Duteli  Boers  who  had  emigrated  from  Cape 
Colony,  fled  four  hundred  miles  to  the  northwest  and  fell 
like  a  sudden  tempest  upon  the  ]Makalakas  and  other  feeble 
tribes  who  pastured  their  eattle  in  this  remote  r<'gion. 
His  tribe  was  not  large,  but  every  man  was  a  ti'ied  war- 
rior. The  Makalakas  were  slaughtered  or  ('has«^d  away  or 
reduced  to  slavery,  and  when  Mosilikatze  died  in  1870,  his 
son  Lo  Bengula  succeeded  to  the  most  powerful  kingdom 
in  South  Africa  after  that  of  Cetewavo,  chief  of  the  Zulus. 
Of  the  native  town  which  grcAV  up  round  the  king's  kraal 
there  is  now  not  a  trace— all  was  destroj'cd  in  1898.  The 
kraal  itself,  which  Lo  Bengula  fired  when  he  fled  away, 
has  gone,  and  only  one  old  tree  marks  the  spot  where  the 
king  used  to  sit  administering  justice  to  his  subjects.  A 
large  part  of  this  justice  consisted  in  decreeing  death  to 
those  among  his  indtaids  or  other  prondnent  men  who 
had  excited  his  suspicions  or  Avliose  cattle  he  desired  to 

223 


I     I  •■ 


i  f. 


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221 


IMPKESSIONS  OF   SOI'TTI   AFRICA 


^*|i' 


Jiltin-oprijitc.  SoTiu'timos  lie  liud  thoni  (lenounncd  — "  snu'lt 
out,"  tlicv  ('iillcd  it  — by  tho  witiili-doctors  as  <ruilty  of 
jn-iiclisiiiji^  niaj^ic  n<^aiiist  liiiii.  Soiiictiim's  In*  dispciisi'd 
^vitll  a  juvtext,  and  sent  a  iiiess(*ii«j:er  to  tlio  liut  of  the 
doomed  man  to  tell  him  the  kin^  wanted  him.  Tiie 
victim,  sometimes  ij^norant  of  liis  fate,  walked  in  front, 
wlnle  the  exe<'ntioner,  following  eloso  behind,  snd<lenly 
dealt  him  with  tin;  knoh-kfrrt/,  or  heavy-ended  stiek,  one 
tretnendous  blow,  which  ernshed  his  sknll  and  left  him 
dead  upon  the  ground.  Women,  on  the  other  hand,  were 
strangled. '  No  one  disputed  the  despot's  will,  for  the 
Matabili,  like  other  Zulus,  show  to  their  king  the  absolute 
submissi(^n  of  soldiers  to  their  general,  while  the  less 
martial  triljes,  such  as  the  Beehuanas  and  Basutos,  obev 
the  ehief  only  wlien  he  has  the  sentiment  of  the  tribe  l)e- 
hind  him.  One  thing,  however,  the  king  e(mld  not  do. 
IL'  owned  a  large  part  of  all  the  cattle  of  the  tribe,  and  he 
assunu'd  the  power  t'^  nt  concessions  to  dig  for  miner- 
als. But  the  land  bi  h1  to  the  whole  tril)e  ))v  rii^ht  of 
concpiest,  and  he  had  no  power  to  alienate  it. 

Moved  l)v  tlie  associations  of  the  ancient  capital,  ]\Ir. 
Rhodes  directed  tlu;  residen<'e  of  the  Administi'ator,  <jov- 
ernment  House,  as  it  is  called,  to  be  built  on  the  site  of 
Lo  Bengula's  kraal.     But  the  spot  was  not  a  convenient 

1  A  singiiliir  story  was  told  me  rogavdiiig  the  death  of  Lo  Bengula's 
sister.  She  had  enjoyed  great  influence  with  hira,  but  when  he  took  to 
wife  the  two  daughters  of  Gunguuhana,the  great  chief  (of  Zulu  stock) 
who  lived  to  the  eastward  heyond  the  Sabi  River,  she  resented  so 
bitterly  the  precedence  accorded  to  them  as  to  give  the  king  con- 
stant annoyance.  At  last,  after  several  warnings,  he  told  her  that 
if  she  persisted  in  making  herself  disagreeable  he  would  have  her 
l)ut  to  death.  Having  consulted  the  prophet  of  the  Matoppo  Hills, 
who  told  her  she  would  be  killed,  she  cheerfully  accepted  this  way 
out  of  t)ie  difficulty,  and  was  accordingly  sent  away  and  strangled. 


i^f 


it  li'    ' 


FROM  HULAWAYU  To  FoKT  SAI.ISUL'KY 


2l'5 


Mr. 


'd  so 
con- 

r  that 
■e  hor 
Hills, 

is  way 


one  for  tlif  croation  of  a  Eiiropcaii  town,  for  it  was  a  j;ood 
WHy  from  any  stream,  and  tlien*  was  liclicvcd  to  be  a  valu- 
al>U!  gold-rt't'f  immediately  under  it.  Aeeordin^ly,  a  new 
site  was  chosen,  on  soinewliat  lower  ground,  altout  two 
miles  to  the  southwest.  Here  new  Hulawavo  stands,  liav- 
in<^  risen  with  a  rapidity  rivalin*,^  that  of  a  nuninj^'-eanip 
in  western  America.  The  site  has  no  natural  hejuity,  for 
the  landscape  is  dull,  with  nothinjj:  to  relieve  its  monoto- 
nous lines  excei)t  the  liill  of  Tsaha  Induna,  about  lifteen 
miles  distant  to  the  east.  The  hill  on  which  the  town 
stands,  slopin*;  j^ently  to  tlie  south,  is  l)are,  dusty,  and 
wind-swept,  like  the  country  all  rouiul.  However,  the 
gum-trees,  planted  in  the  be<:inning  of  1S!)4,  when  the 
streets  were  laid  out,  have  already  shot  uj)  to  twelve  or 
fifteen  feet  in  height  and  lu'gin  to  give  some  little  .shade. 
Brick  houses  are  rising  here  and  there  among  the  wooden 
shanties  and  the  sheds  of  corrugated  iron.  An  opera- 
house  is  talked  of,  and  already  the  cricket-ground  and 
raee-cour.se,  without  which  Englishmen  cannot  l)e  hnppy 
have  been  laid  out.  Town  lots,  or  "  stands,"  as  tiiey  are 
called  in  South  Africa,  had  gone  up  to  i)rices  whi<'h  noth- 
ing but  a  career  of  swift  and  brilliant  prosperity  (!ould 
justify.  However,  that  prosperity  .seemed  to  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Bulawayo  to  be  assured.  Settlers  were  flocking 
in.  Storekee])ers  and  hotel-keepers  were  doing  a  roaring 
trade.  Samples  of  ore  were  everj'  day  lieing  ])rouglit  in 
from  newly  explored  goid-reefs,  and  all  men's  talk  was 
of  pennyweights,  or  even  ourjces,  to  the  ton.  Everybody 
was  cheerful,  because  everybody  was  hopeful.  It  was  not 
surprising.  There  is  something  intoxicating  in  the  atmo- 
sphere of  a  perfectly  new  country,  with  its  undeveloped  and 
undefined  possibilities;  and  the  sudden  acquisition  of  this 
spacious  and  healthful  land,  the  sudden  rise  of  this  English 

15 


W\ 


Wi; 


I  u 


I 


I 


1 


il 


ti  ! 


i  i'i 


2130 


LMI'KKSSIONS  OF  SOl'TH   Al'KICA 


7' 


town  where  two  yeurs  before  tlicn'  had  })een  iiotliiiip^  but 
the  huts  of  siiuaHd  suvii^es,  liad  lillcd  every  one  with  u 
delii;htful  sense  of  the  ])o\ver  of  eivilized  man  to  subju- 
j,Mte  the  eai'tli  and  draw  from  it  ])oiindk'ss  wealth.  Per- 
lia^Ks  something-  may  also  be  set  down  to  the  elinmte. 
liulawayo  is  not  ])eautifnl.  Far  more  attruetive  sites 
mi^ht  have  been  found  amoiij;  the  hills  to  the  south. 
But  it  has  a  delicioiisly  fresh,  keen,  brilliant  air,  with  a 
strong  breeze  temperiu";  the  sun-heat,  and  no  risk  of  fever. 
Indeed,  nearly  all  this  side  of  Matabililand  is  healthful, 
partly  beeause  it  has  been  more  thi«!kly  peopled  of  hito 
years  than  tin;  eastern  side  of  the  country,  whieh  was 
largely  depoi»ulated   by   the   Matabili    raids. 

Next  to  the  pros]»eets  of  the  jfold-reefs  (a  topic  to  which 
I  shall  im'sently  return),  the  question  in  whieh  a  visitor 
in  1895  felt  most  interest  was  the  condition  of  the  natives. 
It  seemed  too  nuich  to  exi)ect  that  a  proud  and  warlike 
race  of  sava<j:es  should  suddenly,  within  less  than  two  years 
from  the  overthrow  of  their  king,  have  abandoned  all 
notion  of  resistance  to  the  whites  and  settled  down  as 
peaceable  subjects.  The  whites  were  a  mere  handful 
scattered  over  an  immense  area  of  ccmntrv,  and  the  white 
police  force  did  not  exceed  four  or  five  hundred  men. 
Neverthek'ss,  the  authoi'ities  of  the  British  South  Africa 
Company  were  of  opinion  that  peace  had  been  finally 
secured,  and  that  no  danger  renuiined  from  the  natives. 
They  observed  that,  ■while  the  true  Matabili  (the  so-called 
Abezansi)  "who  remained  in  the  country— for  some  had  fled 
down  to  or  across  the  Zambesi  after  the  defeats  of  1893 
— wor.^  comparatively  few  in  number,  the  other  natives, 
mostl}'  Makalakas,^  were  timid  and  un warlike.     They  held 

1  The  origiual  inhaliitiiiits  of  tlie  eountiy,  belonging  to  the  tribes 
which  "we,  following  the  Portnguese,  call  ^lakalanga  or  Makalaka,  are 


FliDM   BULAWAVO   TO   I'OUT   SALISIUICV 


L'J7 


tliat  wlion  11  native  trilu'  has  been  oiu'o  ('(»ni[)lt't('ly  over- 
come in  li^Mit,  it  aeccpls  the  iiu'vitahle  with  siiitmission. 
And  tliey  dwelt  on  the  ftiet  that  lio  lien^'ula's  tyranny 
luul  been  a  eonstant  soiiree  of  terror  to  liis  own  snbjects. 
After  his  llijjrlit  some  of  liis  h'adin<;  in<hinas  eanie  to  Dr. 
Jameson  and  said,  "Now  we  ean  sU'ep."  Tlieir  l)elief  was 
sliared  by  all  IIk;  FiUro])eans  in  the  country.  Eiij^lisli  set- 
tlers dwelt  alone  without  a  shade  (»f  aj)j>rehension  in  farms 
six,  eij^ht,  or  ten  miles  from  another  Kur«)i»ean.  In  the 
journey  I  am  deseribinj^'  from  Mafokin<^  to  Fort  Salisbury, 
over  eij^dit  hundred  miles  of  hmely  country,  my  wife 
and  I  were  aeeompunied  only  by  my  driver,  a  worthy 
Cape  Dutehnnin  named  iionske,  and  by  a  nutivo '' Capo 
bov."  None  of  ns  was  armed,  and  no  one  of  the  friends 
we  consulted  as  to  our  trip  even  sn^^^ested  that  I  should 
carry  so  much  as  a  ■•.^volver,  or  that  the  slij^htest  risk  was 
involved  in  takin*;  a  ladv  throu«di  the  eountrv.  How  abso- 
lutelv  secure  tin;  Administrator  at  liulawayo  felt  was  shown 
by  his  sending  tlie  Mataltililand  mounted  i)olie(!  to  Pitsani, 
in  southern  Hechuanaland,  in  November,  leaving  the  coun- 
try denuch'd  of  any  force  to  keep  order. 

It  is  easy  to  be  wise  after  the  event.  The  confidence  of 
the  Europeans  in  the  submissiveness  of  the  natives  is  now 
seen  to  liave  been  ill  founded.  Causes  of  discontent  were 
rife  amonjj;-  them,  whi<'h,  at  first  obscure,  have  now  (1897) 
become  i)retty  clear.  Two  of  these  (causes  were  already 
known  at  the  time  of  my  visit,  thou*;]!  their  seriousness 
was  underestimated.     In  Mashonaland  the  natives  di.s- 

called  l)y  tlio  ^ratal)ili  (tlu'inselves  Zulus)  Masweni.  The  name  Ma- 
lioli,  oft(Mi  also  api)lle(l  to  tlioin,  is  saitl  to  mean  "outsiders,"  1.  e., 
non-Zulus.  Thouj^h  many  had  been  draft (m1  as  boys  into  tlie  Mata- 
bili  regiments,  and  others  were  used  as  sla>  "s,  many  more  dwelt  in 
the  country  west  and  northwest  of  liulawayo,  besides  those  who 
form  the  population  of  Mashonaland,  to  the  east. 


iB|  iH 

I 


ill 


I  I 
M 


:ii 


228 


iMi'UKssioNs  OF  sorrn  afkica 


/' 


'4<f 


/     I  ' 


lik«'(l  th<'  tax  of  tt'ii  slnlliii^^s  for  ciu'h  liiif,  wliicli  tliere, 
us  ill  the  Ti'Jiiisviial  If^'piiblic,'  tlicy  luivc  hccii  n'(|uirt'cl 
to  |)'iy  ;  and  tlicy  coinplaiiu'd  that  it  was  apt  to  fall  hravily 
on  the  indiisti'ious  Kalir,  luM-aiisi'  the  idlc^  one  t'scapi'd, 
liavinj;  nothing'  tiiat  rould  1k>  takrii  in  paynu'nt  of  it. 
This  tax  was  sonictiniea  levied  in  kind,  sonietinies  in 
labor,  l)nt  hy  i>referenee  in  money  when  the  hut-owner 
had  any  money,  for  the  Company  desired  to  induce  the 
natives  to  earn  wajj^es.  If  he  had  not,  an  ox  was  usually 
taken  in  pled«fe.  In  Matahililand  many  natives,  I  was 
tohl,  felt  a^^ji:rioved  that  the  Company  liad  claimed  the 
ownership  of  and  the  ri^dit  to  take  to  itself  all  the  cat- 
tle, as  having  been  the  property  of  Lo  lien^ula,  althoujjh 
many  of  these  had,  in  fact,  l)een  h  i.t  in  the  hands  of  the 
indunas,  and  a  lar«;e  part  were,  in  December,  IHl).'),  distrib- 
uted amoiij^  the  natives  as  their  own  property.  Subse- 
quent iiuiuiries  have  shown  that  this  grievance  was  deei)ly 
and  widely  felt.  As  regards  the  land,  there  was  evidently 
the  jnaterial  out  of  which  a  grievance  might  grow,  but 
the  grievan(!e  did  not  seem  to  have  yet  actually  arisen 
The  land  was  being  sohl  ot¥  in  farms,  and  mitives  squat- 
ting on  a  piece  of  land  so  sold  might  be  required  by  the 
l)ui'chaser  to  clear  out.  However,  pains  were  taken,  I  was 
tohl,  to  avoid  including  native  villages  in  any  farm  sold. 
Often  it  would  not  be  for  the  purchasei-'s  interest  to  eject 
the  natives,  because  he  might  get  laborers  among  them, 
and  labor  is  what  is  most  wanted.  Two  native  reserva- 
tions had  been  laid  out,  but  the  policy  of  the  Company 
was  to  keep  the  natives  scattered  about  among  the  whites 

'  A  lint  is  ixsiially  allotted  to  each  wife,  and  thus  this  impont  falls 
heavily  on  the  polygamist  chief,  being,  in  fact,  a  tax  upon  luxuries. 
I  was  told  that  in  the  Transvaal  some  of  the  rich  natives  were  trying 
to  escape  it  by  putting  two  wives  in  the  same  hut. 


--  ,*^ 


FUOM   m'hAWAYO  TO  FOUT   SALlSlU  UY 


u;ju 


ratlior  tlmii  mass  tliciii  in  tlio  n'scrvatioiis.  T'lMln*  TiO 
Bt'Uj^ulii  tlicn'  liad  Ix-on  no  sucli  tliin^'  as  privat*'  owiM't'sliip 
of  laiul.  TIh'  land  was  "nationali/tMl,"  aiid  ii(»  iiidix  idiial 
Kallr  WHS  dccnicd  to  have  any  iK'iMiiancnt  and  cxclnsivo 
riglit  (!V(Mi  to  tlic  piece  of  it  wliicii  lie  nii^dit  l)e  at  tiie 
time  eultivatifif.'.  While  he  aetnally  <lid  enltivate  he  was 
not  disturlted,  for  the  simple  reason  that  thei'e  was  far 
more  land  than  the  people  eunld  or  woald  eMJIivate.  The 
natives,  althonj,'h  they  till  the  soil,  are  still  hait'-nnmads. 
Tliey  often  shift  their  villa«;es,  and  even  wImmi  the  villa<ro 
remains  they  seldom  cultivate  the  same  patch  for  loii^ 
together.  Though  Europeans  had  been  freely  huying  tin? 
hind,  they  bought  largely  to  hold  for  a  rise  and  sell  again, 
and  ccmiparatively  few  of  the  farms  bought  had  been  actu- 
ally stocked  with  cattle,  wliile,  of  course,  the  parts  under 
tillage  were  a  mere  trifle.  Hence  there  did  not  seem  to  have 
been  as  yet  any  pressure  ui)on  the  natives,  who,  though 
tliey  vastly  outnumber  the  Europeans,  arc  very  few  in  pro- 
portion to  the  size  of  the  country.  I  doubt  if  in  the  wliole 
territory  of  the  Company  south  of  the  Zambesi  liiver 
there  are  800,000.  To  these  possible  sources  (►f  tr()ubh> 
there  was  added  one  now  pereeiv- a  to  have  been  still 
graver.  Native  labor  was  needed  not  oidy  for  i)ublic, 
works,  but  by  private  i)ersons  for  mining  operations.  As 
the  number  of  Kafirs  who  came  willinglv  was  insuf!ici»'nt, 
the  indunas  were  required  to  furnish  stout  young  men  to 
work,  and  according  to  Mr.  Selous,i  who  was  then  living 


.^1 


'      K 


I   i* 


IV 


!♦ 


'. 


\ 


1  See  his  book,  published  in  the-  end  of  1896,  entitled  "Sunshine 
and  Storm  in  Rhodesia."  I  do  not  ^atlior  from  it  how  fur,  in  his 
opinion,  what  went  on  was  known  to  the  higher  officials.  It  seems 
clear  that  no  ordinance  was  ever  issuod  by  the  Company  permitting 
compulsory  labor. 

Since  the  above  lines  were  written  a  report  by  Sir  Richard  Martin 


;  i 


>'i 


I,-'' 


^ 


'if* 


ill 


Mfl 


*U' 


I 


230 


IMPKESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


in  the  country,  force  had  often  t<>  1»e  used  to  })ring  them 
in.  Good  wages  were  given;  ]»•;'  the  regulations  were 
irksome,  and  the  native  police,  wiio  were  often  employed 
to  bring  in  the  laborers,  seem  to  have  abused  their  pow- 
ers. To  the  genuine  Matabili,  who  lived  only  for  war 
and  plunder,  and  had  been  accustomed  to  despise  the 
other  tribes,  work  was  not  only  distasteful,  but  degrading. 
They  had  never  been  really  subdued.  In  1893  they  hid 
away  most  of  the  firearms  they  possessed,  hoping  to  use 
them  again.  Now,  when  their  discontent  had  increased,  two 
events  hastened  an  outbi  eak.  One  was  the  departure  of 
the  white  police.  Only  forty-four  were  left  in  Matal)ililand 
to  keep  order.  The  other  was  tho  appearance  of  a  frightful 
murrain  among  the  cattio,  which  made  it  necessary  for 
the  Company  to  order  the  slaughter  even  of  healthy  ani- 
mals in  order  to  stop  the  progress  of  the  contagion.  The 
plague  had  come  slowly  down  through  German  and  Por- 
tuguese East  Africa,  propagated,  it  is  said,  by  the  wild  ani- 
mals, especially  buffaloes.  Some  kinds  of  wild  game  are 
as  liable  to  it  as  domesticated  oxen  are,  and  on  the  Upper 
Zambesi  in  September,  189G,  so  large  a  part  of  the  game 
had  died  that  the  lions,  mad  with  hunger,  were  prowling 
round  the  native  kraals  and  making  it  dangerous  to  pass 
from  village  to  village.  This  new  and  unlooked-for  ca- 
lamity created  a  ferment  in  the  minds  of  the  natives.  The 
slaughter  of  their  cattle  seemed  to  them  an  act  of  injustice. 
Just  when  they  were  terrified  at  this  calamity  (which,  it  was 
reported,  had  been  sent  up  among  them  by  Lo  Bengula 
or  his  ghost,  from  the  banks  of  the  Zambesi)  and  incensed 


I' 


m '; 


1.1 


has  been  presented  to  the  British  Parliament,  in  -whicli  he  states  that 
although  there  was  no  regulation  allowing  forced  labor,  force  was, 
in  fact,  used  to  bring  tho  natives  from  their  kraals  to  work.  Th'i 
Company  in  a  reply  which  they  have  published  do  not  admit  this. 


m 


FROM  BULAWAYO   TO   FOltT   SALISBURY 


2;u 


at  this  apparent  injustice,  eomin*;  on  tlie  top  of  tlicir  pre- 
vious visitation,  tlie  news  of  tlie  defeat  and  surrender  of  the 
Company's  police  force  in  the  Transvaal  spread  anionj^ 
them.  They  saw  the  white  government  defenseless,  and 
its  head,  Dr.  Jameson,  whose  kindliness  had  impressed 
those  who  knew  him  personally,  no  lon^^er  anu)n|i''  them. 
Then,  under  the  incitemeiits  of  a  proi)het,  came  the  revolt. 

This,  liowever,  is  a  digression.  In  October,  1895,  we 
traveled,  unarmed  and  unconcerned,  hy  night  as  well  as 
by  day,  through  villages  where  five  months  later  the  Ka- 
firs rose  and  murdered  every  Europe.'ui  within  reach.  So 
entirely  unsuspected  was  the  ah-eady  simmering  disaf- 
fection. 

The  native  question  which  occupied  Bulawayo  in  Sep- 
tember, 1895,  was  that  nativtslabor  qiu'stion  which,  in  one 
form  or  another,  is  always  present  to  South  African  minds. 
All  hard  labor,  all  rough  and  unskilled  labor,  is,  and,  ow- 
ing to  the  heat  of  the  climate  as  well  as  the  scarcity  of 
white  men,  must  be,  done  by  l)lacks,  and  in  a  new  coun- 
try like  Matabililand  the  blacks  do  not  want  to  do  it, 
and  are  especially  averse  to  working  under  ground. 
They  are  only  beginning  to  use  money,  and  tlir'y  do 
not  want  the  things  which  money  buys.  The  wants  of  a 
native  li\4ng  with  his  tribe  and  cultivating  mealies  or  Kafir 
corn  are  confined  to  a  kaross  (skin  cloak)  or  some  i)ieccs  of 
cotton  cloth.  The  prospect  of  leaving  his  tribe  to  go  and 
work  in  a  mine,  in  order  that  he  may  earn  wages  where- 
with he  can  buy  things  he  has  no  use  for,  does  not  at  once 
appeal  to  him.  The  wliite  men,  anxious  to  get  to  work  on 
the  gold-reefs,  are  annoyed  at  what  they  call  the  stupidity 
and  laziness  of  the  native,  and  usually  clamor  for  legis- 
lation to  compel  the  natives  to  come  and  work,  adding,  of 
course,  that  regular  lal)or  would  be  the  best  thing  in  the 


fi' 


n 


\n 


232 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


li; 


woi'M  for  the  natives.  Some  go  so  far  as  to  wish  to  compel 
them  to  work  at  a  fixed  rate  of  wages,  sufficient  to  leave  a 
goo'l  profit  tor  tlie  employer.  Others  go  even  f urtlier,  and 
as  experience  has  sliown  that  the  native  does  not  fear  im- 
prisonment as  a  penalty  for  leaving  his  work,  desire  the 
infliction  of  anotlier  i)unishment  which  he  does  fear — 
that  is,  the  lash.  Such  demands  are  fitter  for  Spaniards 
in  the  sixteenth  century  than  for  Englishmen  in  the  nine- 
teenth. The  difficulty  of  getting  labor  is  incident  to  a  new 
country,  and  must  be  borne  with.  In  German  East  Africa 
't  has  been  so  mucli  felt  that  the  Administrator  of  that 
region  has  proposed  to  import  Indian  labor,  as  the  sugar 
planters  of  Natal  and  as  those  of  Trinidad  and  Demerara 
in  the  West  Indies  have  already  done.  But  it  is  to  some 
extent  a  transitory  difficulty.  The  mines  at  Kimberlev 
succeed  in  drawing  plenty  of  native  labor ;  so  do  the  mines 
on  the  Witwatersrand ;  so  in  time  the  mine-owners  in 
Matabililand  may  hope  to  do  also.  They  must,  however, 
be  prepared,  until  a  regular  afflux  of  laborers  has  been  set 
up,  to  offer,  as  the  Kimberle}'  people  do,  wages  far  in  ex- 
>  3S  of  what  the  Kafirs  ccmld  possibly  earn  among  their 
own  people,  in  order  to  overcome  the  distaste  of  the  native 
—a  very  natural  distaste,  due  to  centuries  of  indolence  in 
a  hot  climate — to  any  hard  and  continuous  toil.  This  is  no 
great  compensation  to  make  to  those  whose  land  they  have 
taken  and  whose  primitive  way  of  life  they  have  broken  up 
and  forever  destroyed.  But  once  the  habit  of  coming  to 
work  for  wages  has  been  established  in  these  northern  re- 
gions,—and  it  need  not  take  many  years  to  establish  it,— 
the  mining  companies  will  have  no  great  difficulty  in  get- 
ting as  much  labor  as  they  want,  and  will  not  be  obliged, 
as  they  now  are,  to  try  to  arrange  with  a  chief  for  the 
despatch  of  some  of  his  "boys." 


I 


FROM  BL'LAWAYO  TO  FORT  SALISBURY 


2X\ 


Biilawayo  is  the  point  from  which  one  starts  to  visit  the 
Victoria  Falls  on  the  Zambesi,  the  only  very  ^rand  natural 
object  which  South  Africa  has  to  show.  The  ex{)editi()n, 
however,  is  a  much  longer  one  than  a  glance  at  the  ma]) 
would  suggest.  Owing  to  the  prevalence  of  the  tsetse-fly  in 
the  valley  of  the  great  river,  one  cannot  take  oxen  witli- 
out  the  prospect  of  losing  them,  and  must  therefore  trnvcl 
on  foot  or  with  donkeys.  The  want  of  a  wagon  makes 
camping  out  much  more  troublesome  and  involves  a  large 
force  of  native  porters.  Thus  elaborate  preparations  are 
needed,  and  though  the  distance,  as  the  crow  flies,  from 
Bulawayo  to  the  Falls  is  only  some  two  hundrel  miles,  at 
least  six  weeks  are  needed  for  the  trip,  a  space  of  time  we 
could  not  spare. 

I  have  described  in  the  last  chapter  the  route  from  Cape 
Town  to  the  capital  of  Matabililand  which  persons  coming 
from  England  would  naturally  take.  It  is  not,  however, 
by  any  means  the  shortest  route  to  the  sea,  and  it  is  there- 
fore not  the  route  along  which  the  bulk  of  the  European 
trade  is  likely  in  future  to  paj^s.  From  Cape  Town  to 
Bulawayo  it  is  thirteen  hundred  and  eighty  miles;  l)ut 
from  Bulawayo  to  the  port  of  Beira,  on  the  Indian  Ocean, 
it  is  only  six  hundred  and  fifty  miles  via  Fort  Salisbury 
and  Mtali,  and  will  be  only  about  five  hundred  if  a  more 
direct  railway  line  should  ever  be  laid  out.  I  propose  o 
take  the  reader  back  to  the  sea  at  Beira  by  tliis  Fort  Salis- 
bury and  Mtali  route,  and  in  following  it  lie  will  Jearn 
something  about  Mashonaland  and  the  mountains  whieli 
form  the  boundary  between  British  and  Portuguese 
territory. 

Bulawayo  is  distant  from  Fort  Salisbury  two  hundred 
and  eighty  miles.  The  journey  takes  by  coach  four  days 
and  four  nights,  traveling  night  and  day,  with  only  short 


H 


I 


« 


h 


234 


IMPRESSIONS   OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


'  '  i' 


■n 


halts  for  meals.  An  ox-waj]^on  areomplishes  it  in  al)Out 
tliree  weeks.  The  track  runs  nearly  all  the  way  along  high 
ground,  open,  breezy,  and  giinevally  healthful,  but  seldom 
picturesque.  It  is  a  land  of  rolling  downs,  the  tops  of 
which  are  covered  with  thin  grass,  while  better  pastures, 
and  sometimes  woods  also,  are  found  in  the  valleys  of  the 
streams  and  on  the  low(!r  slopes  of  the  hills.  The  first 
part  of  the  way,  from  l^idaw^ayo  to  the  little  town  of 
Gwelo,  is  rather  dull.  One  crosses  the  Bimbezi  Kiver, 
where  the  Matabili  were  finally  overtlirown  in  the  war  of 
1893,  and  the  Shangani  ^  River,  where  they  suffered  their 
first  defeat.  The  Company's  force  was  advancing  along 
the  high,  open  ground  to  attack  Bulawayo,  and  the  native 
army  met  them  on  the  road.  Both  battle-fields  are  bare 
and  open,  and  one  wonders  at  the  folly  of  the  natives  who 
advanced  over  such  ground,  exposed  to  the  rifle-fire  and  the 
still  more  deadly  Maxim  guns  of  the  invaders.  Armed 
in  large  part  only  with  assagais,  they  were  mown  down 
before  they  could  even  reach  the  front  of  the  British  line, 
and  their  splendid  courage  made  their  destruction  all 
the  more  complete.  Had  they  stuck  to  the  rocky  and 
woody  regions  they  might  have  made  the  war  a  far  longer 
and  more  troublesome  business  than  it  proved  to  be.  No 
stone  marks  either  battle-field. 

From  a  spot  between  the  two  rivers  we  turned  off  to 
the  south  to  visit  the  prehistoric  remains  at  Dhlodhlo.  It 
was  an  extremely  lonely  track,  on  which  we  did  not  meet 
a  human  being  for  some  thirty  miles.  No  house,  not  even 
a  Kafir  hut,  was  to  be  found,  so  we  bivouacked  in  the  veldt, 
to  the  lee  of  a  clump  of  thorn-bushes.     The  earlier  part  of 

1  The  Shangani  is  here  a  very  small  stream.  It  vas  far  away  to 
the  north,  on  the  lower  course  of  the  same  stream,  that  Major  Wilson 
and  his  party  perished  later  in  the  war. 


/•: 


FROM   BULAWAYO   TO  FORT   SALISBURY 


235 


the  niji^hts  is  delightful  at  this  season  (late  sj^'iug:),  but  it 
is  apt  to  get  cold  Ijetween  2  and  4  a.  m.,  and  as  there  is 
usually  a  southeast  wind  blowing,  the  shelter  of  a  bush  or 
an  ant-hill  is  not  unwelcome.  Whoever  enjoys  travelijig 
at  all  cannot  but  enjoy  such  a  night  alone  under  the  stars. 
Ono  gathers  sticks  to  make  the  fire,  and  gets  to  know 
which  wood  burns  l)est.  One  considers  liow  the  sc^anty 
supply  of  water  which  the  wagon  carries  may  be  most 
thriftily  used  for  making  the  soup,  boiling  tlie  eggs,  and 
brewing  the  tea.  One  listens  (we  listened  in  vain)  for  tho 
roar  of  a  distant  lion  or  the  still  less  melodious  voice  of  the 
hyena.  The  brilliance  of  the  stars  is  such  that  only  tho 
fatigue  of  the  long  day — for  one  must  always  start  l)y  or  be- 
fore sunrise  to  spare  the  animals  during  the  sultry  noon— 
and  the  difficulty  of  sitting  down  in  a  great,  bai*e,  Hat  land, 
where  there  is  not  a  large  stone  and  seldom  even  a  tree, 
can  drive  one  into  the  vehicle  to  sleep.  The  meals,  con- 
sisting of  tinned  meat  and  biscuits,  with  eggs  and  some- 
limes  a  small,  lenn,  and  desiccated  chicken,  are  very  scanty 
and  very  monotonous,  but  the  air  is  so  dry  and  fresh  and 
bracing  that  one  seems  to  find  meat  and  drink  in  it. 

Next  day  we  came,  at  the  foot  of  the  Matoppo  Hills,  to 
a  solitary  farm,  where  we  found  a  bright  young  English- 
man, who,  with  only  one  white  companion,  had  established 
himself  in  this  wilderness  and  was  rai^^ing  good  crops  on 
fields  to  which  he  brought  water  from  a  neighboring 
streamlet.  Even  the  devastation  wrought  by  a  blight  of 
locusts  had  not  dispirited  him  nor  diminished  his  faith  in 
the  country.  It  is  not  the  least  of  the  pleasures  of  such  a 
journey  that  one  finds  so  many  cheery,  hearty,  sanguine 
young  fellows  scattered  about  this  country,  some  of  them 
keeping  or  helping  to  keep  stores,  some  of  them,  like  our 
friend  here,  showing  what  the  soil  may  be  made  to  do  with 


»> 


/  m 


II 


ii 


ii<- 


m 


Ill 


2;jc 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFHIf'A 


Ifi        / 


I 


-1 


skill  and  persnvcranee,  and  how  homos  may  he  reared  upon 
it.  One  is  always  liospitably  received ;  one  often  finds  in 
the  hard-workinjif  pioneer  or  the  youth  behind  the  store 
eounter  a  cultivated  and  thoughtful  mind ;  one  has,  per- 
liaps,  a  glimi)se  of  an  attractive  personality  developing 
itself  under  sinij)le  yet  severe  conditions,  fitted  to  bring  out 
the  real  force  of  a  man.  After  half  an  hour's  talk  you  part 
as  if  you  were  parting  with  an  old  friend,  yet  knowing  that 
the  same  roof  is  not  likely  ever  to  cover  both  of  you  again. 
There  are,  of  course,  rough  and  ill-omened  explorers  and 
settlers  in  South  Africa,  as  in  other  new  countries;  but 
having  wandered  a  good  deal,  in  different  countries,  on  the 
outer  edge  of  civilizati(m,  I  was  struck  by  the  large  pro- 
portion of  well-mannered  and  well-educated  men  whom 
one  came  across  in  this  tropical  wilderness. 

From  the  young  Englishman's  farm  we  turned  in  among 
the  hills,  following  the  course  of  the  brook,  and  gently 
rising  till  we  reached  a  height  from  Avhicli  a  superb  viev: 
to  the  north  unrolled  itself.  The  country  was  charming, 
quite  unlike  the  dull  brown  downs  of  yesterday.  On  each 
side  were  steep  hills,  sometimes  rocky,  sometimes  covered 
thick  with  wood ;  between  them  in  the  valley  a  succession 
of  smooth,  grassy  glades,  each  circled  round  by  trees.  It 
was  rural  scenery— scenery  in  which  one  could  wish  to 
build  a  cottage  and  dwell  therein,  or  in  which  a  pastoral 
drama  might  be  laid.  There  was  nothing  to  suggest  Eu- 
rope, for  the  rocks  and,  still  more,  the  trees  were  thor- 
oughly African  in  character,  and  the  air  even  drier  and 
keener  than  that  of  Spain.  But  the  landscape  was  one 
which  any  lover  of  English  country  might  have  come  to 
love,  and  some  day,  when  there  are  large  towns  in  Mata- 
bililand,  and  plenty  of  Englishmen  living  in  them,  the 
charm  of  these  hills  will  be  appreciated.     The  valley 


FROM  liULAWAYO  TO  FOKT  SALISliUliY 


237 


rises  at  liist  to  a  grassy  taLlc-luiul,  wIhtc,  on  a  boss  of 
granite  roek,  stand  the  ancient  walls  of  Dhlodhlo,  whieh 
we  had  eonie  to  see.  I  have  already  described  the  ruins 
(see  Chapter  IX),  whieli  are  scanty  enough,  and  inter- 
esting, not  from  any  beauty  they  possess,  but  because  we 
have  so  few  data  for  guessing  at  their  purpose  or  tlie  race 
that  built  them.  The  countrv  is  now  verv  solitary,  and 
the  natives  fear  to  ajjproach  the  ruins,  especially  at  night, 
believing  them  to  be  haunted.  Having  sj)ent  some  h(mrs 
in  examining  them,  we  were  just  starting  when  a  swarm 
of  locusts  i)assed,  the  first  we  had  seen.  It  is  a  strange 
sight,  beautiful  if  you  (lan  forget  the  destruction  it  brings 
with  it.  The  whole  air,  to  twelve  or  even  eighteen  feet 
above  the  ground,  is  tilled  with  the  insects,  reddish  brown 
in  body,  witli  bright,  gauzy  wings.  When  the  sun's  i*ays 
catch  them  it  is  like  the  sea  s})arkling  with  light.  When 
you  see  them  against  a  cloud  they  are  like  the  dense  flakes 
of  a  driving  snow-storm.  You  feel  as  if  you  Ihid  never 
before  realized  immensity  in  number.  Vast  (a-owds  of 
men  gathered  at  a  festival,  countless  tree-tops  rising  along 
the  slope  of  a  for  ist  ridge,  the  chimneys  of  London  houses 
1.  om  the  top  of  St.  Paul's,— all  are  as  nothing  to  the  myr- 
iads of  insects  that  blot  out  the  sun  above  and  cover  the 
ground  beneath  and  fill  the  air  whichever  way  one  looks. 
The  breeze  carries  them  swiftly  past,  but  they  come  on 
in  fresh  clouds,  a  host  of  which  there  is  no  end,  each  of 
them  a  harmless  creature  which  you  can  catch  and  crush 
in  your  hand,  but  appalling  in  their  power  of  collective 
devastation.  Yet  here  in  southern  Matabililand  there  had 
been  only  a  few  swarms.  We  were  to  see  later  on,  in  tlie 
eastern  mountain  region,  far  more  terrible  evidences  of 
their  presence. 

From  Dhlodhlo  we  drove  to  tl'e  store  on  the  Shangani 


\l 


t- 


fi 


I 


J 


i 


'^iJ 


f^ 


i 


ill 


1 


m 


i\ 


i(  I  ^ 


Wi  if  '^ 


'n 


238 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFIiICA 


P 


i'-  . 


River,  II  (listtin(!e  of  twenty  miles  or  more,  right  over  the 
open  veldt,  finding  our  way,  with  the  aid  of  a  native  boy, 
over  stony  hills  and  thiek  shrubs,  and  even  liere  and  there 
across  marshy  stream  beds,  in  a  way  whieii  astonishes  the 
European  accustomed  to  think  that  roads,  or  at  least  beaten 
tracks,  are  essential  to  four-wheeled  vehicles.  I  have 
driven  in  an  open  cart  across  the  central  watershed  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains ;  but  the  country  there,  rough  as  it  is, 
is  as  a  paved  road  compared  with  some  parts  of  the  veldt 
over  which  the  South  African  guides  his  team.  Once  or 
twi(!e  we  missed  the  way  in  the  deepening  twilight,  and 
began  to  prepare  ourselves  for  another  night  under  the 
stars,  witli  a  nearly  exhausted  food-supply.  But  at  last, 
just  as  darkness  fell,  we  reached  a  native  village,  and  ob- 
tained (with  difficulty)  a  native  guide  for  the  last  few 
miles  of  the  drive.  These  miles  were  lighted  by  a  succes- 
sion of  grass-fires.  Such  fires  are  much  commoner  here 
than  in  the  prairies  of  western  America,  and,  happily, 
much  less  dangerous,  for  the  grass  is  usually  short  and 
the  fire  moves  slowly.  They  are  sometimes  accidental,  but 
more  frequently  lighted  by  the  natives  for  the  sake  of  get- 
ting a  fresh  growth  of  young  grass  on  the  part  burned  and 
thereby  attracting  the  game.  Sometimes  the  cause  is  even 
slighter.  The  Kafirs  are  fond  of  eating  the  mice  and  other 
small  inhabitants  of  the  veldt,  and  they  fire  the  grass  to 
frighten  these  little  creatures,  and  catch  them  before  they 
can  reach  their  holes,  with  the  further  convenience  of  hav- 
ing them  ready  roasted.  Thus  at  this  season  nearly  half 
the  land  on  these  downs  is  charred,  and  every  night  one 
sees  the  glow  of  a  fire  somewhere  in  the  distance.  The 
practice  strikes  a  stranger  as  a  wasteful  one,  exhausting  to 
the  soil,  and  calculated  to  stunt  the  trees,  because,  though 
the  grass  is  too  short  to  make  the  fire  strong  enough  to  kill 


FHOM   nrLAWAYO   TO   FORT   SALISBURY 


230 


a  wt'll-^n'owii  tree,  it  is  (luito  Jiblo  to  injure  tho  younger 
ones  and  prevent  tlieni  from  ever  reaeliing  their  due  pro- 
portions. 

The  term  "store,"  wliieli  I  liave  just  used,  recjiiires  some 
explanation.  There  are,  of  course,  no  inns  in  tlie  eountry, 
exeejjt  in  the  three  or  four  tiny  towns.  Outside,  shiepin*; 
(puirters  are  to  ))e  liad  only  in  small  native  huts,  Imilt  round 
a  sort  of  la'imitive  ''general  shop"  whieh  scmie  trader  has 
established  to  supply  the  wants  of  those  who  live  within 
tifty  miles  or  who  pass  along  the  road.  The  hut  is  of 
elay,  with  a  I'oc  of  tliateh,  wliieh  mtikes  it  cooler  than  the 
store  with  its  roof  of  galvanized  iron.  White  ants  are 
usually  at  work  upon  the  elay  walls,  sending  down  little 
showers  of  dust  upon  the  sleeper.  Each  hut  contains  two 
rough  wooden  frnmes,  across  whieh  there  is  stretched,  to 
make  a  bed,  a  piece  of  coarse  linen  or  ticking.  Prudent 
people  turn  back  the  dirty  rug  or  bit  of  old  blanket  which 
covers  the  bed,  and  east  a  ghmee  upon  the  clay  floor  to  see 
that  no  venomous  snake  is  already  in  possession.  Such 
night  quarters  may  seem  unattractive,  but  we  had  many 
a  good  night's  rest  in  them.  When  they  are  unattainable, 
one  camps  out. 

From  the  Shangani  River  to  Gwelo  the  track  leads  again 
over  a  succession  of  huge,  swelling  ridges,  separated  from 
one  another  by  the  valleys  of  spruits,  or  streams,  now 
nearly  dry,  but  in  the  wet  season  running  full  and  strong. 
The  descent  to  the  spruit,  which  is  often  a  short,  steep 
pitch  and  is  then  called  a  donga,  needs  -careful  driving,  and 
the  ascent  up  the  opposite  bank  is  for  a  heavy  wagon  a 
matter  of  great  diflftculty.  We  i)assed  wagons  hardly  ad- 
vancing a  step,  though  eight  or  nine  span  of  oxen  were 
tugging  at  them,  and  sometimes  saw  two  or  three  span 
detached  from  another  team  and  attached  to  the  one  which 


I    V    ' 


■  I 


'I  ■•* 


l! ''!! 


'd 


' 


240 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AI'UK'A 


" 


l! 
lii 


luid  failed,  unaided,  to  mount  the  slope.  No  wonder  that, 
when  the  diflieulty  <»t'  l)rin^in^  up  niiieliinery  is  so  great, 
impatient  mine-owners  lon^'  for  the  railway. 

The  first  sign  tliut  we  were  eh)se  unon  (rvvelo  eame  from 
the  sif^ht  of  a  numl)er  of  white  ivv  siiirt-slecves  runninj^ 
across  a  meadow— an  unusual  s.  iv  in  South  Africa,  which 
presently  explained  itself  as  the  English  inhabitants  eu- 
gagcnl  in  a  cricket  match.  Nearly  the  whole  town  was 
either  jdaying  or  looking  on.  It  was  a  hot  afternoon,  but 
our  energeti(f  countrymen  were  not  to  be  scared  by  the  sun 
from  the  pursuit  of  the  national  game.  They  are  as 
much  Englishmen  in  Afri<ra  as  in  England,  and,  happily 
for  them  and  for  their  country,  there  is  no  i)art  of  the 
nati(mal  character  that  is  more  useful  when  transplanted 
than  the  fondness  for  at^tive  exercise.  Gwelo,  a  cheerful 
little  place,  though  it  stands  in  a  rather  bleak  country, 
with  a  woodcnl  ridge  a  little  way  off  to  the  south,  interested 
me  as  a  specimen  of  the  newest  kind  of  settlement.  It  is 
not  in  strictness  a  mining  camp,  for  there  are  no  reefs  in 
the  immediate  neighborhood,  but  a  mining  center,  which 
proposes  to  live  as  the  hx^al  metropolis  of  a  gold-bearing 
district,  a  place  of  supj)ly  and  seat  of  locpl  administration. 
In  October,  1895,  it  had  about  fifteen  houses  inhabited  by 
Europeans,  and  perhaps  thirty  houses  altogether ;  but  the 
materials  for  building  other  houses  were  already  on  the 
ground,  and  the  usual  symptoms  of  a  "boom"  were  dis- 
cernible. Comparing  it  with  the  many  similar  "new 
cities  "  I  had  seen  in  western  America,  I  was  much  struck 
with  the  al)sence  of  the  most  conspicuous  features  of  those 
cities— the  "  saloons  "  and  "  bars."  In  California  or  Mon- 
tana these  establishments,  in  which  the  twin  deities  of 
gambling  and  drinking  are  worshiped  with  equal  devotion, 
form  half  the  houses  of  a  recent  settlement  in  a  mining 


ii 


FUOM   lU'LAWAVO  To  FUKT   .SALIHUIKY 


'J -11 


r('«,'u»ii.  In  Soutli  Africn,  <'X('('i»t  at  and  lu'ar  .Tolianiics- 
l)ur^,  one  scai'ccly  st'os  tlicni.  Sonu'  drinkinj?,  of  course, 
there  is  at  stores  and  hotels,  hut  it  rareiv  oh(ru(h's  itself. 
What  j^ainhlinj;  there  nuiy  1m'  I  kn()\v  not,  hut  at  any  rate 
there  are  no  «^anil>linj;-s!iloons.  N(>thin<^ean  l)e  more  (h»- 
(•orous  than  the  aspect  of  these  new  African  towns,  and 
the  conduct  of  the  inhahitants  seldom  ])elies  tlie  aspect. 
There  is,  of  course,  a  free  use  of  alcohol.  lint  there  is  no 
sliootinj^,  sucli  as  p>es  on  in  American  minin<x  towns: 
crimes  of  vioh'n(!e  of  any  kind  are  extremely  rare;  and 
the  roads  are  safe.  No  one  dreams  o^  '^dkin«;  the  precau- 
tions against  "road-ajjents"  (i.e.,  hi^diwaymen)  wliich 
are  still  far  from  superfluous  in  the  Western  States  and 
were  far  from  superfluous  in  Australia.  Trains  are  not 
stopped  and  robhed  ;  coaelies  are  not  ''lield  u})."  Notliinj:^ 
surjn'ised  me  more,  next  to  tlie  ai)parent  suhnussiveness 
of  tlie  native  Kafirs,  than  the  order  which  appeared  to 
prevail  amon^  tlie  whites.  A  little  reflection  shows  that 
in  this  comitry,  where  traveliii",'  is  cither  very  .slow  or  very 
costly  and  diflflcult,  malefactors  wo  dd  have  few  chances  of 
escape.  But  I  do  not  think  this  is  the  chief  cause  (►f  the 
orderly  and  law-abidinji^  habits  of  the  people.  There  have 
never  been  any  traditions  of  violence,  still  less  of  crime,  in 
South  Africa,  except  as  ajjfainst  the  natives.  The  Dutch 
Boers  were  steady,stolid people,  little^iven  to  thieving  or  to 
killing  one  another.  The  English  have  carried  with  them 
their  respect  for  law  and  authority.  In  some  respects  their 
ethical  standard  is  not  that  of  the  mother  country.  But 
toward  one  another  and  toward  those  set  in  authority 
over  them  their  attitude  is  generally  (!(>rrect. 

The  night  we  spent  at  Gwelo  gave  a  curious  instance  of 
the  variability  of  this  climate.  The  evening  had  been 
warm,  but  about  midnight  the  wind  rose,  bringing  a  thin 

16 


11 


m 


\ 


n 


i    I 


A 


'2V2 


IMI'liKSSlONS   OF    SOl'TII    AFKKJA 


/  I 
>  I 


ft 


■  i 


(Irizzlf  lA'  mill,  uiul  next  inoriiiiijj;  tlic  cold  was  that  of 
Boston  or  Kdinluirfi'li  in  a  hittrr  northeaster.  Having 
fortunately  l»rou«,dit  warm  clonks  and  overcoats,  we  put 
on  all  wo  liad  and  fastened  the  canvas  luirtains  round  the 
vehicle.  Nevertheless,  we  shivered  all  day  hm^,  the  h)W, 
tliii^k  clouds  raininj^'  at  intervals,  and  the  mahjjfn  hlast 
chilling  one's  hones,  (iwtdo,  of  course,  <leclared  that  siudi 
wiMither  was  ^uite  exceptional ;  but  those  can  have  traveled  « 
little  indeed  who  have  not  remarked  liow  ofti'ii  they  en- 
counter'' exceptional  weather,"  and  (Jwelo,  having  existed 
for  eighteen  months  only,  had  at  besr,  a  small  experience 
to  fall  back  upon.  The  moral  for  travelers  is:  "Do  not 
forget  to  tiike  your  furs  and  your  ulsters  to  tropical 
South  Africa." 

Some  fortv  miles  bevond  Gwelo  there  is  a  mountain 
called  Iron  Mine  Hill,  where  the  ]\Ia.shonas  have  for  genera- 
tions been  wont  to  tiiid  and  work  iron.  All  or  nearly  all  the 
Kafir  tribes  do  this,  but  the  iMashonas  are  more  skilful  at  it 
than  v  '!  "e  their  coiKiuerors  the  jMatabili.  Here  a  track  turns 
off  to  the  southeast  to  Fort  Victoria,  the  first  military  post 
established  by  the  Company  in  its  territories,  and  for  a 
time  the  most  important.  It  has  fallen  into  the  back- 
ground lately,  i)artly  because  the  gold-reefs  have  not  realized 
the  hopes  oiK^e  formed  of  them,  partly  because  it  suffers 
from  fever  after  the  rains.  I  went  to  it  because  from 
it  one  visits  the  famous  ruins  at  Zimbabwye,  the  most 
curious  relic  of  prehistoric  antiquity  yet  discovered  in 
troiHcal  Africa.  The  journey,  one  hundred  miles  from 
Iron  Mine  Hill  to  Victoria,  is  not  an  easy  one,  for  there 
are  no  stores  on  the  way  where  either  provisions  or  night- 
quarters  can  be  had,  and  the  track  is  a  bad  one,  being  very- 
little  used.  The  countrv  is  mostly  wooded  and  rather  pretty, 
with  fantastic,  rocky  hills  rising  here  and  there,  but  pre- 


FkoM   liULAWAYO  TO  FOUT   HALISHl'UV 


'J4a 


ROTitiiij?  fow  sti'ikin^  f^nitnros.  Two  vi<nvs,  liowcn-or,  dwrll 
in  my  ircollccticm  as  rlmnu'tt'ristic  of  South  At'ri<'ii.  Wo 
luul  slept  in  a  nido  lint  on  the  loinks  of  the  Slmslii  Hivcr, 
inmicdijitcly  bcnt'iitli  u  ntcky  kopje,  and  rose  n«'xt  niorniii^ 
l»ef(»re  (lawn  to  eontinue  tlie  journey.  Iliivrt'  roeks  piled 
wihlly  upon  one  another  rose  ahove  the  little  nu'adow— 
roeks  eovered  with  li'-hens  of  In'illiant  hues,  red,  ^'re«'n, 
and  yellow,  niul  ^dowin^'  under  the  rays  of  the  level  sun. 
(ilossv-leaved  bushes  nestled  in  the  crevices  and  covered 
the  mouths  <»f  the  dens  to  which  the  leopnrds  had  retired 
from  their  no(^turiud  prowls.  One  tree  stood  out  a«;!iinst 
the  clear  bhu;  on  the  top  of  tlu^  highest  rock.  (!lirt'-swal- 
lows  darted  and  twittered  about  the  hollows,  while  hi^h 
overhead,  in  the  still  inorninj,^  air,  two  pairs  of  larj^e  hawks 
sailed  in  wide  circles  round  aiul  round  the  summit  of  tho 
hill.  A  few  miles  fai'ther  the  tra»:k  crossed  a  height  from 
which  one  could  ^^azo  for  thirty  miles  in  (ivery  direction 
over  a  jj^ently  rolling  country  covered  with  wood,  but  with 
broad  stretches  of  pasture  interposed,  whose  prass,  bleached 
to  a  lijjfht  yellow,  made  one  think  it  a  nuiss  of  corn-ti(dds 
whitening  to  harvest.  Out  of  these  woods  aiul  fields  rose 
at  intervals  what  seemed  the  towers  and  si)ires  of  cities 
set  upon  hills.  We  could  have  fancied  ourselves  in  cen- 
tral Italy,  snrveying  from  some  eminence  like  jMonte 
Amiata  tlie  ancient  towns  of  Tuscany  and  Umbria  rising 
on  their  rocky  heiglits  out  of  chestnut  woods  and  fields 
of  ripening  corn.  But  tlie  city  towers  were  only  piles  of 
gray  rock,  and  over  the  wide  horizon  there  was  not  a 
sign  of  human  life— only  the  silence  and  loneliness  of  an 
untouched  wilderness. 

From  Fort  Victoria,  where  the  war  of  1893  began  by  a 
raid  of  the  young  Matabili  warriors  upon  the  ]\Iashona 
tribes,  who  were  living  uudcr  the  protection  of  the  Com- 


\ 


W 


s. 


244 


IMPIJESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


'  n 


M 


pany,  it  is  sevciitoen  miles  to  Zim])alm'ye.  Tlie  track  leads 
tlir()U|j^li  a  pretty  country,  with  alternate  stretches  of  wood 
and  jfrass,  bold  hills  on  either  side,  and  blue  })eaked  moun- 
tains in  the  distance.  Crossin^j  a  low,  bare  ridge  of 
granite,  one  sees  nearly  a  mile  away,  among  thick  trees, 
a  piece  of  gray  wall,  and,  when  one  comes  nearer,  what 
seems  the  top  of  a  tower  just  peering  over  the  edge  of  the 
wall.  This  is  Zimbabwy(^~a  wall  of  loose  but  well-trimmed 
and  ri^^atly  fitted  pieces  of  granite  surrounding  an  elliptical 
inclosure ;  within  this  inclosure  other  half-ruined  walls 
overgrown  by  shrubs  and  trees,  and  a  strange,  solid  tower 
or  pillar  thirty  feet  high,  built,  without  mortar,  of  similar 
pieces  of  trimmed  granite.  This  is  all  that  there  is  to  see. 
One  paces  to  and  fro  within  the  inclosure,  and  measures 
the  width  and  length  of  the  passages  between  the  walls. 
One  climbs  the  great  inclosing  wall  at  a  point  where  part 
of  it  has  been  broken  down,  and  walks  along  the  broad 
top,  picking  one's  way  over  the  stems  of  climbing  shrubs, 
which  thrust  themselves  across  the  wall  from  beneath  or 
grow  rooted  in  its  crevices.  One  looks  and  looks  again, 
and  wonders.  But  there  is  nothing  to  show  whether  this 
gray  wall  is  three  centuries  or  thirty  centuries  old.  There 
is  no  architectural  style,  no  decoration  even,  except  a  rudely 
simple  pattern  on  the  outside  of  the  wall  which  faces  the  east ; 
so  there  is  nothing  by  which  one  can  connect  this  temple,  if 
it  is  a  temple,  with  the  buildings  of  any  known  race  or  coun- 
try. In  this  mystery  lies  the  charm  of  the  spot— in  this  and 
in  the  remoteness  and  silence  of  a  country  which  seems  to 
have  been  always  as  it  is  to-day.  One  mark  of  modern 
man,  and  one  only,  is  to  be  seen.  In  the  middle  of  the 
valley,  some  three  hundred  yards  from  the  great  building, 
Mr.  Cecil  Rhodes  has  erected  a  monument  to  Major  Wilson 
and  the  thirty-seven  troopers  who  fell  with  him  on  the 


FROM   BULAWAYO   TO  FOKT   SALISBURY 


24.") 


Lower  Sliang^aui  River  in  Deeemlx'r,  1893,  finlitin<;  gal- 
lantly to  the  last  against  an  overwhelming  force  of  Mata- 
bill.  The  monument  stands  on  an  eminence  suirounded 
by  the  broken  wall  of  some  ancient  stronghold.  It  has 
been  wisely  i)laced  far  enough  from  the  great  ruin  not  to 
form  an  incongruous  element  in  the  view  of  the  latter,  and 
it  was  an  imaginative  thought  to  commemorate,  at  a  spot 
in  this  new  land  which  bears  witness  to  a  race  of  prehis- 
toric conipie/ors,  the  most  striking  incident  in  the  history 
of  the  latest  ('onquest. 

We  climbed  the  rocky  height,  where  the  skilfully  con- 
structed walls  of  the  ancient  fort  show  that  those  who 
built  Zimbabwye  lived  in  fear  of  enemies.  We  sat  beside 
the  spring,  a  clear  though  not  copious  one,  whi(Oi  rises  a 
little  to  the  south  of  the  great  building  from  a  iissure  in 
the  rock.  Fountains  so  clear  are  rare  in  this  country,  and 
the  existence  of  this  one  pro})ably  determined  the  site  of 
the  great  l)uilding  itself.  It  flows  into  a  small  i)0()l  and  is 
then  lost,  ])eing  too  small  to  fortn  a  rivulet.  No  trace  of 
man's  hand  is  seen  round  it  or  on  the  nuirgin  of  the  pool, 
but  those  who  worshii)ed  in  the  temi)le  of  Zimbabwye 
doubtless  worshiped  this  fountain  also,  for  that  is  one  of 
the  oldest  and  most  widely  ditfused  forms  of  worshii)  in 
the  world.  Restless  nature  will  some  dav  overthrow  the 
walls  of  the  temple,  which  she  is  piercing  with  the  roots 
of  shrubs  and  entwining  with  the  shoots  of  climbing  wild 
vines,  and  then  only  the  fountain  will  be  left. 

From  Fort  Victoria  to  Fort  Salisbury  it  is  nearly  two 
hundred  miles,  the  country  generally  level,  though  studded, 
like  parts  of  southern  India,  with  isolated  rocky  hills,  whose 
crags  of  granite  or  gneiss  break  under  the  sun  and  rain 
into  strange  and  fantastic  shapes.  A  people  sufficiently 
advanced  to  erect  fortifications   might  have   made   for 

16* 


V\ 


\    I 


I  II 


: 

1 

] 

H 

n 

ii 


I  Hi 


246 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


L('*  ^ 


i    !, 


m 


tliemselves  impregnable  strongholds  out  of  the  tops  of 
these  kopjes.  The  timid  Makalakas  have  in  many  places 
planted  their  huts  in  the  midst  of  the  huge  detaelied  masses 
into  which  tlie  kopjes  are  cleft ;  but  they  have  not  known 
how  to  make  their  villages  defensible,  and  have  been  con- 
tent with  piling  up  a  few  loose  stones  to  close  some  narrow 
passage  between  the  rocks,  or  surrounding  their  huts  with 
a  rough  fence  of  thorn-bushes.  We  found  one  deserted 
village,  where  upon  each  loose  block  there  had  been  placed 
a  rude  erection  of  clay,  covered  at  the  top,  and  apparently 
intended  for  the  storing  of  grain.  Thus  raised  from  the 
ground,  it  was  safer  from  wild  beasts  and  from  rain.  All 
the  dwelling-huts  but  two  had  been  burned.  We  entered 
these,  and  found  the  walls  covered  with  the  rudest  possible 
representations  of  men  and  animals,  drawn  with  charcoal, 
more  coarsely  than  an  average  cliild  of  ten  would  draw, 
and  far  inferior  in  spirit  to  the  figures  which  the  Lapps  of 
Norway  will  draw  on  a  reindeer-horn  spoon,  or  the  Red 
Indians  of  Dakota  upon  a  calico  cloak.  Whether  the  vil- 
lage had  perished  by  an  accidental  fire,  or  whether  its  in- 
habitants, relieved  from  that  terror  of  the  Matabili  which 
drove  tlicjn  to  hide  among  the  rocks,  had  abandoned  it  for 
some  spot  in  the  plain  below,  there  was  no  one  to  tell  us. 
One  curious  trace  of  insecurity  remained  in  a  dry  and  light 
tree-trunk,  which  had  been  left  standing  against  the  side 
of  a  flat-toi)ped  rock  some  thirty  feet  high,  with  the  lowest 
dozen  feet  too  steep  to  be  climbed.  It  had  evidently  served 
as  a  sort  of  ladder.  By  it  the  upper  part  of  the  rock  might 
be  gained,  and  when  it  had  been  pulled  up,  approach  was 
cut  off  and  the  fugitives  on  the  flat  top  might  be  safe,  while 
the  Matabili  were  plundering  their  stores  of  grain  and  kill- 
ing their  friends  beneath. 
All  this  eastern  side  of  the  country  was  frequently  raided 


r'l 


1 


FROM   BULAWAYO   TO   FOKT   SALISUrUY 


:.'-i7 


by  the  Matabili,  whose  home  lay  fartlior  west  toward  Bii- 
lawayo.  The  Makahikas  could  otTcr  no  resistance,  not 
only  because  they  were  i)oor  ily'liters,  l)ut  also  because  they 
were  without  cohesion.  The  clans  wi'rc  sniall  iuid  obeyed 
no  common  overlord.  ]Most  of  tlu^  vilhiu'cs  lived  ({uite 
unconnected  with  one  another,  yieklin*;'  obedience,  often  a 
doubtful  obedience,  to  their  own  chief,  l)ut  c;irin<;"  nothin<? 
for  any  other  village.  Among  savages  the  ascendancy  of 
a  comparatively  numerous  tribe  which  is  drilled  to  light, 
and  which  renders  implicit  ol)edience  to  its  chief,  is  swift 
and  complete.  The  Matabili  when  they  entered  this 
country  had  probably  only  ten  or  twelve  thousand  fight- 
ing men ;  but  they  conquered  it  without  tlu^  slightest  diffi- 
culty, for  the  inhabitants,  though  far  more  numerous,  were 
divided  into  small  communities,  and  did  not  attempt  to 
offer  any  collective  resistance.  Tluni  for  more  than  half 
a  century  slaughter  and  })illagti  reigned  over  a  tract  of 
some  ninety  thousand  square  ndles.  Much  of  this  tract, 
especially  the  eastern  part,  which  we  call  Mashonaland,  was 
well  peopled  by  tribes  who  lived  (piietly,  had  i)lenty  of 
cattle,  tilled  the  soil,  and  continued  to  dig  a  little  gold,  as 
their  forefathers  had  done  for  centuries.  They  were  now 
mercilessly  raided  by  the  Matabili  all  the  way  from  Lake 
Ngami  on  the  west  to  the  edge  of  the  great  i)lateau  on  the 
east,  till  large  districts  were  depopulated  and  left  desolate, 
the  grown  men  having  been  all  killed  or  chased  away,  the 
children  either  killed  or  made  slaves  of  or  taken  as  recruits 
into  the  Matabili  army.  Constant  war  and  the  sanguinary 
government  of  Lo  Bengula  reduced  the  nundjer  of  the  true 
Matabili,  so  that  such  recruiting  1  )ecame  a  necessity.  Their 
successes  filled  the  Matabili  with  an  overweening  confi- 
dence in  their  power.  Through  all  South  Africa  they  de- 
spised every  native  tribe,  except  that  martial  one  which  was 


1 1 


i 


1 


I 


f' 


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■)(■ 


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1 1' 


'M 


248 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


'  '). 


ruled  by  Gungunhana  on  the  eastern  frontier  of  Mashona- 
laud,  and  despised  even  tlie  white  men,  tliinking  them  but 
a  handful.  Tlie  indunas,  wlio  had  visited  London  in  1891, 
endeavored  to  warn  tlieni  of  the  resources  of  the  whites,and 
Lo  Bengula  liimseLt'  was  opposed  to  war.  But  the  young 
braves,  who,  like  Cetewayo's  Zulus,  desired  to  "  wash  their 
spears,"  overbore  the  reluctance  cf  the  monarch,  only  to 
perish  in  the  war  of  1893. 

Toward  Fort  Salisbury  the  country  rises  and  grows 
prettier  as  it  shows  signs  of  a  more  copious  rainfall.  New 
flowers  appear,  and  the  grass  is  greener.  About  twelve 
miles  before  the  town  is  reached  one  crosses  a  considerable 
stream  with  a  long,  deep,  clear  pool  among  rocks,  and  is 
told  of  the  misadventure  of  an  English  doctor  who,  after 
a  hasty  plunge  into  the  pool,  was  drying  himself  on  a  flat 
stone  just  above  the  water  when  a  crocodile  suddenly  raised 
its  hideous  snout,  seized  his  leg  in  its  jaws,  and  dragged 
him  down.  Fortunately  his  companions  were  close  at 
hand  and  succ<^eded  after  a  struggle  in  forcing  the  beast 
to  drop  its  prey. 

The  town  itself  is  built  at  the  foot  of  a  low,  wooded  hill, 
on  the  top  of  which  stood  tht  origiiuil  fort,  hastily  con- 
structed of  loose  stones  in  1890,  and  occupied  in  serious 
earnest  for  defense  during  the  Matabili  war.  It  spreads 
over  a  wide  space  of  ground,  with  hi:*uses  scattered  here 
and  there,  and  has  become,  since  the  draining  of  the  marshy 
land  on  the  banks  of  a  streamlet  which  runs  tlirough  it, 
free  from  malaria  and  quite  healthful.  Thougii  I  found 
the  sun-heat  great  in  the  end  of  October  (for  one  is  only 
eighteen  degrees  from  the  equator),  the  air  was  so  fresh 
and  dry  that  I  could  walk  for  mUes  in  the  full  blaze  of 
noon,  and  the  nights  were  too  cool  to  sit  out  on  the  stoep 
(the  wooden  veranda  which  one  finds  at  the  front  of  every 


F140M   BULAWAYC)   TO  FOKT   SALISBURY 


240 


South  African  house)  without  an  overcoat.  Just  round 
the  town  tlic  country  is  open  and  grassy,  l»ut  the  horizon 
in  every  direction  is  closed  by  woods,  Th«i  views  are  far 
prettier  than  those  from  Bulnwayo,  and  the  position  of 
the  town  nuikes  it  a  better  center  for  the  administration 
as  well  as  the  commerce  of  the  Company's  territories.  It 
is  only  two  hundred  and  twenty  miles  from  the  Zambezi 
at  Tete,  and  oidy  three  hundi'cd  and  seventy  from  the  port 
of  Beira.  Tlie  Company  did  well  to  encourage  the  growth 
of  Bulawayo  immediately  after  the  con([uest  of  1(S93,  be- 
cause it  was  necessary  to  explore  and  to  establish  order 
in  the  newest  i)arts  of  its  teri'itory.  lint  in  the  long  run, 
and  especially  when  the  regions  north  of  the  Zand)esi  begin 
to  be  practically  occupied,  Bulawayo,  stanching  in  a  corner 
of  the  country,  will  have  to  yield  to  the  more  imjjerial  site 
of  Fort  Salisbur}.  The  district  which  lies  round  the  lat- 
ter town  is  better  watered  than  western  ]Matal)ililand,  and 
the  soil  ri(dier  both  for  i)asture  and  for  tillage.  The  rain- 
fall for  the  year  ending  A])ril,  1890,  reached  tifty-three 
inches,  and  the  average  is  al)out  f(n'ty. 

Fort  Salisbury  is  three  years  older  than  Bulawayo,  so 
that  I  was  not  surprised  to  find  it  much  more  advanced. 
There  are  severjd  churches,  and  there  is  a  colony  of  East 
Indians,  who  gro^v  vegetables  and  get  very  high  prices  for 
them.  A  considerable  trade  is  done  in  supplying  the  needs 
of  the  mining  districts  to  the  north  and  west.  A  good 
many  gold-reefs  lie  out  in  those  directions,  and  great  ho})es 
are  entertained  of  their  future,  though  at  the  time  of 
my  visit  people  were  much  busier  in  floating  new  com- 
panies to  develop  the  mines  than  in  taking  stei)s  for  their 
actual  development.  Some  very  pretty  country  residences, 
in  the  style  of  Indian  bungalows,  have  been  built  on  the 
skirts  of  the  woods  a  mile  or  two  from  the  town ;  and 


' 


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\  \ 


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!  4ik 
♦  >  '1 


f 


•  !    • 


25C 


IJVIPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


street-lamps  now  light  people  to  tlieir  homes  along  paths 
where  four  years  ago  lions  were  still  encountered.  The 
last  lion  recoiling  in  dismay  from  the  fii'st  street-lamp 
would  be  a  good  subject  for  a  picture  to  illustrate  the 
progress  of  Mashonaland. 


I, 


I, 


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1 1 


hs 
le 

le 


CHAPTER  XVI 

FROM  FORT   SALISBURY   TO   THE     SEA— MANICALAND 
AND   THE   PORTUGUESE  TERRITORIES 

IN  Africa,  moisture  is  everything.  It  makes  the  differ- 
ence between  fertility  and  barrcnn(>ss ;  it  makes  the  dif- 
ference between  a  cheerful  and  a  melancholy  landscape.  As 
one  travels  northeastward  from  Palapshwye  to  Bulawayo, 
and  from  Bulawayo  to  Fort  Salisbury,  one  passes  by  de- 
grees from  an  arid  and  almost  rainless  land  to  a  land  of 
showers  and  flowing  waters.  In  Bechuanaland  there  are, 
except  for  three  mouths  in  the  year,  no  streams  at  all.  In 
Matabililand  one  begins  to  find  brooks.  In  Maslionaland 
there  are  at  last  rivers,  sometimes  with  rocky  banks  and 
clear,  deep  pools,  which  (like  that  just  mentioned)  tempt 
one  to  bathe  and  risk  the  terrible  snap  of  a  crocodile's 
jaws.  Thus  eastern  Maslionaland  is  far  more  attractive 
than  the  countries  which  I  have  described  in  the  last  two 
chapters.  It  has  beautiful  and  even  striking  scenery. 
The  soil,  where  the  granitic  rocks  do  not  come  too  near 
the  surface,  is  usually  fertile,  and  cultivation  is  easier 
than  in  the  regions  to  the  southwest,  because  the  rains  are 
more  copious.  There  are  many  places  round  Fort  Salis- 
bury and  on  the  way  thence  to  Mtali  and  Massikessi  where 
a  man  might  willingly  settle  down  to  spend  his  days,  so 

251 


W    ill 


til 


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252 


LMPUKS«ION«   OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


fl: 


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lit 


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f»  I  li 


geuial  and  so  full  of  beauty  is  the  nature  around  liini. 
And  as  the  land  is  liigli,  it  is  also  healthful.  Except  in  a 
few  of  the  valley  bottoms,  fever  need  not  be  feared,  even 
after  the  rains. 

From  Fort  Salisbury  to  the  Indian  Oceaj'  at  Beira  it  is 
a  journey  of  three  hundred  and  seventy  miles,  of  which 
the  first  one  hundred  and  fifty-live  are  in  British,  the  rest 
in  Portuguese,  territory.  When  the  railway,  which  now 
(May,  1897)  runs  inland  for  one  hundred  and  fifty-eight 
miles  from  Beira,  has  been  completed  to  Fort  Salisbury, 
this  distance,  which  at  present  recjuires  at  least  eight  days' 
travel,  will  become  a  trifle.  But  those  who  will  then  hurry 
through  this  picturescpie  region  behind  the  locomotive 
will  lose  nuich  of  the  charm  which  the  journey,  by  far  the 
most  attractive  part  of  a  South  African  tour,  now  has  for 
the  lover  of  nature. 

For  the  first  forty  miles  southeastward  from  Fort  Salis- 
bury the  track  runs  through  a  wooded  country,  diversified 
by  broad  stretches  of  pasture.  Here  and  there  we  found 
a  European  farm,  marked  in  the  distance  by  the  waving 
tops  of  the  gum-trees,  with  the  low  wooden  house  fes- 
tooned by  the  brilliant  mauve  blossoms  of  the  climbing 
Bougainvillea,  and  the  garden  inclosed  by  hedges  of  gren- 
adilla,  whose  fruit  is  much  eaten  in  South  Africa.  Vege- 
tables raised  on  these  farms  fetch  enormous  prices  in  thv3 
town,  so  that  a  man  who  understands  the  business  may 
count  on  making  more  by  this  than  he  will  do  by  "  pros- 
pecting" for  gold-mines  or  even  by  floating  companies. 
We  found  the  grass  generally  fresh  and  green,  for  some 
showers  had  fallen,  and  the  trees,  though  still  small,  were 
in  new  leaf  with  exquisite  tints  of  red.  Now  and  then, 
through  gaps  between  the  nearer  hills,  there  are  glimpses 
of  dim  blue  mountains.    As  one  gets  farther  to  the  south- 


FROM   FOUT  RALISIU'RY  TO  TTIF  SKA 


<>  r,  n 


east  tlic  liills  urc  lii^jjlicr,  {iiid  on  eithor  sido  tliere  rise  fan- 
tastic kopjes  of  ^ninitt'.  Their  to^js  arc  deft  and  riven  by 
deep  fissures,  and  hu{^e  det:iched  blo<*l\s  are  strewn  about 
at  their  base,  or  perelied  like  ^ijira!iti<'  tal)h's  upon  the  lops 
of  pilUirs  of  roek,  poised  so  finely  that  one  fancies  a  blast 
of  wind  nii^ljt  overthrow  them.  These  "penciled  ))h)('ks," 
howevisr,  have  not,  like  tlie  hlocs  pcrvhh  of  western  Europe 
been  left  by  ancdent  glacders  or  icebergs,  for  it  seems  still 
doubtful  whether  there  has  l»een  a  ^^flaeial  period  in  South 
Africa,  and  neither  here  nor  in  the  mountains  of  Basuto- 
land  could  T  discover  traces  of  ancient  moraines.  They  are 
due  to  the  natural  dec^omposition  of  the  rock  on  the  spot. 
The  alternate  heat  of  the  day  and  cold  of  the  night— a  cold 
which  is  often  great,  owing  to  the  radiation  into  a  cloudless 
sky— split  the  masses  by  alternate  expansion  and  contrac- 
tion, make  gi-eat  flakes  peel  otf  them  like  the  coats  of  an 
onion,  and  give  them  these  singularly  picturesque  shapes. 
All  this  part  of  the  country  is  as  eminently  fit  for  a  land- 
scape-painter as  Bechuanaland  and  the  more;  level  parts  of 
Matabililand  are  unfit,  seeing  that  here  one  has  foregrounds 
as  well  as  backgrounds,  and  the  colors  are  as  rich  as  the 
forms  are  varied.  For  I  must  add  that  in  this  region, 
instead  of  the  monotonous  thornv  acacias  of  the  western 
regions,  there  is  much  variety  in  the  trees ;  no  tropical 
luxuriance,- the  air  is  still  too  dry  for  that,— but  many 
graceful  outlines  and  a  great  diversity  of  foliage.  Besides, 
the  wood  has  a  way  of  disposing  itself  with  wonderful 
grace.  There  is  none  of  the  monotony  either  of  pine  for- 
ests, like  those  of  northern  and  eastern  Eurojie,  or  of  such 
forests  of  deciduous  trees  as  one  sees  in  Michigan  and  the 
AUcghanies,  l)ut  rather  what  in  England  we  call  "  park-like 
scenery,"  though  why  nature  should  be  supposed  to  do  best 
when  she  imitates  art,  I  will  not  attempt  to  inquire.     There 


1 


I 


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Ill 


2f)4 


IMI'RKSaiONS  OF   HOUTTI  AFKIfA 


i  i' 


. 


nro  l)olts  of  wood  inclosing  sor'ludod  lawns,  and  proiips 
of  trees  dotted  over  a  stn^teh  of  roUiiifif  meadow,  i>rotty 
littl<i  l>its  of  detail  whi(^li  enlianee  tlu!  eharin  of  tlie  aiiiplo 
swi'eps  of  view  that  rise  and  roll  to  the  far-(>tf  hlui;  horizon. 
Beyond  Marandella's— the  word  sounds  Italian,  but  is 
really  tiie  An^licnzed  form  of  the  name  of  a  native  chief— 
the  country  lu'comes  still  more  open,  and  solitary  peaks  of 
gneiss  befjin  to  stand  up,  their  sides  of  bare,  smooth  ^ray 
rock  sometimes  too  steep  to  be  climbed.  Below  and  be- 
tween them  are  broad  stretch(»s  of  pasture,  with  here  and 
there,  on  the  banks  of  the  streams,  pieces  of  land  which 
seem  eminently  fit  for  tillage.  On  one  such  piece— it  is 
called  Lawren"^dale— we  f(mnd  that  two  young  English- 
men had  brought  some  forty  acres  into  cultivation,  and 
admired  the  crops  of  vegetables  they  were  raising  partly 
by  irrigati(m,  partly  in  reliance  on  the  rains.  Almost  any- 
thing will  gr<  vv,  l)ut  garden-stuff  pays  best,  bc(!ause  there 
is  in  and  round  Fort  Salisbury  a  market  clamorous  for  it. 
The  great  risk  is  that  of  a  descent  of  locusts,  for  these 
pests  may  in  a  few  hours  strip  the  ground  clean  of  all 
that  covers  it.  However,  our  young  farmers  had  good 
hopes  of  scaring  off  the  swarms,  and  if  they  could  do  so 
their  profits  would  be  large  and  certain.  A  few  hours 
more  through  driving  showers,  which  made  the  weird 
landscape  of  scattered  peaks  even  more  solemn,  brought 
us  to  the  halting-place  on  Lezapi  River,  a  pretty  spot  high 
above  the  stream,  Avhere  the  store  which  supplies  the  neigh- 
borhood with  the  necessaries  of  life  has  blossomed  into  a 
sort  of  hotel,  with  a  good  many  sleeping-huts  round  it. 
One  finds  these  stores  at  intervals  of  about  twenty  or 
thirty  miles ;  and  they,  with  an  occasional  farm  like  that 
of  Lawrencedale,  represent  the  extreinely  small  European 
population,  which  averages  less  than  one  to  a  dozen  square 


FliOM   FOUT    SAIJSRT'KY   TO   TIIK   SKA 


l2r>B 


milps,  (>von  reckoning;  in  tin*  missionuries  that  are  scattered 
here  and  there. 

From  Lezapi  I  ina(h»  an  exeursioii  to  a  eurious  native 
buihlinj?  lyinjJT  some  six  miles  to  the  east,  which  Mr.  Se- 
h)us  luul  advised  me  to  see.  The  lieat  of  tlie  weather  made 
it  necessary  to  start  very  early,  so  I  was  awakc^ned  while 
it  was  still  dark.  But  when  I  stood  ready  to  be  off  just 
before  suni'ise,  the  Kaiir  boy,  a  servant  of  tlu^  store,  who 
was  to  have  ji^uided  me,  was  not  to  be  found.  No  search 
rould  discover  him.  lie  had  a|)j)arently  disliked  the  er- 
rand, perhaps  had  some  superstitious  fear  of  the  spot  lie 
was  to  lead  me  to,  and  had  vani.slicd,  ([uite  unmoved  ])y 
the  prospect  of  his  employer's  disph-asure  and  of  the  sum 
he  was  to  receive.  The  incident  was  characteristic  of 
these  natives.  They  art;  curiously  wayward.  They  are 
influenced  by  motives  they  cannot  be  induced  to  disclose, 
and  the  motives  which  most  affect  a  Euro})eau  .sonu'times 
fail  altogether  to  tell  upon  them.  With  jjreat  difli(!ulty 
I  succeeded  in  findin",'"  another  native  boy  who  i)romised 
to  show  me  the  way,  and  followed  him  off  through  the 
wood  and  over  the  pastures,  umible  to  s})eak  a  vv^ord  to 
him,  and  of  course  understajidin^  not  a  word  of  the  vol- 
uble bursts  of  talk  with  which  he  every  now  and  then 
favored  me.  It  was  a  lovely  mornin<?,  the  sky  of  a  soft 
and  creamy  V)lue,  dew(h'ops  sparkling  on  the  tall  stalks  of 
grass,  the  rays  of  the  low  sun  striking  between  the  tree- 
tops  in  the  thick  wood  that  clothed  the  oi)posite  hill, 
while  here  and  there  faint  blue  smoke-wreaths  rose  from 
some  Kafir  hut  hidden  anu)nGf  the  l)rusliwood.  We 
passed  a  large  village,  aud  just  beyond  it  overtook  three 
Kafirs,  all  talking  briskly,  as  is  their  wont,  oue  of  them 
carrying  a  gun  aud  apparently  going  after  game.  A 
good  many  natives  have  firearms,  but  acts  of  violence 


f 


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I 


1 


ii 


•J  .I  (I 


IMPKKHSIONH  OF  HOl'TII   AFKIC'A 


|f^ 


srciji  to  1m'  fxtn'nicly  rnro.  Tlicu,  ])n8sni<j  inulor  somo 
rocky  liri«;lits,  we  saw,  aflrr  an  lionr  niid  ti  hiilfs  fust 
walkiiit;,  tin'  ^n'oup  of  huts  vvlicni  the  Company's  iiativo 
(•oiimiissioiicr,  vvlioiii  I  was  ^'oiiiy  to  liinl,  had  lixcd  his 
station.  Sonic  Kalii's  were  at  work  on  their  nM'alic-i>h)ts, 
and  one  of  them,  droppinj^  his  mattock,  rnslied  aci'oss  and 
insisted  on  slud<in<,^  hands  with  me,  saying'  "Mora^'os," 
wliieli  is  said  to  he  a  mixture  of  Dutch  and  Kidir  meaning 
"  (lood  morning',  sir."  The  commissioner  was  livinfj:  alone 
amon<;  tlie  natives,  ;ui(]  ch'chired  himself  (|uite  at  ease  as  to 
their  behavior.  One  chief  dwelling' near  ha<l  been  restive, 
but  submitted  wlien  hc^  was  treated  witii  firmness ;  and 
the  natives  gfcnerally— so  he  tohl  me— seem  ratiier  to  wel- 
(H):no  the  intervention  of  a  white  num  to  eo!>ipose  their 
disputes.  They  are,  lie  added,  prone  to  break  their  prom- 
ises, exeept  in  one  ease.  If  an  object,  even  if  of  snudl 
valne,  has  been  delivered  to  them  as  a  token  of  the  en- 
gaji^ement  inadi^  they  feel  bound  by  the  en<;a<;ement  so 
hnig  as  they  keep  this  object,  and  when  it  is  formally  de- 
nmnded  back  thev  will  restore  it  unharmed.  The  fact  is 
curious,  and  throws  li«?ht  on  some  of  the  features  of  j)rini- 
itive  legal  eustom  in  Europe. 

The  eommissioner  took  me  to  the  two  pieees  of  old 
building— one  eau  hardly  call  them  ruins— which  I  had 
come  to  see.  One  (ealled  Cliipjulzi's)  has  been  already 
mentioned  (see  p.  73,  (mte).  It  is  a  bit  of  aneient  wall  of 
blocks  of  trimmed  granite,  neatly  set  without  mortar,  and 
evidently  meant  to  defend  the  most  aceessible  point  on  a 
roeky  kopje,  which  in  sonu^  distant  age  had  been  a  strong- 
hold. It  has  all  the  appearance  of  having  been  constructed 
by  the  same  race  that  built  the  walls  of  Dhlodhlo  (see 
p.  69)  and  Zimbabwye  (see  p.  74)  (though  the  work  is  not 
so  neat),  and  is  called  by  the  luiti  ves  a  Zimbabwye.    Behind 


L. 


FHOM   TOUT   SALIsnrUY   TO  TIIK  SKA 


251 


li,,  ill  the  (M'nter  of  tlic  k()]>jo,  is  a  rudu  low  wail  of  roii^'h 
stoiH's  inclosing  tiin'i'  liuts,  <»iily  one  of  which  rciiiuins 
roofed.  I'lMlcr  this  one  is  the  ^'niv«»  of  a  famous  chief 
called  Makoiii,— the  name  is  rather  an  otlicial  than  a  per- 
sonal on<',  and  liis  personal  name  was  Cliipad/i,-  the  uncle 
of  tlie  present  Makoni,  who  is  the  leading'  cliief  of  this 
distriot*  On  the  ^rave  there  stands  a  larp'  earthenware 
])()t,  wliieh  used  to  he  rej;ularly  filled  with  native  heer  when, 
once  a  year,  about  the  anniv<'rsary  of  this  ohl  Makoni's 
death,  liis  sons  and  other  descendants  came  to  venerate 
and  propitiate  liis  ^host.  Five  years  a^'o,  when  the  white 
men  came  into  the  (iountrv,  tlie  ceremonv  was  disused,  and 
the  poor  ghost  is  now  left  without  honor  and  nutriment. 
The  pot  is  broken,  and  another  pot,  wliich  stood  in  an  ad- 
joining hut  and  was  used  i)y  the  woi'shipers,  has  disap- 
peared. The  place,  Ijowevcr,  retains  its  awesome  chara»!ter, 
and  a  native  boy  who  was  with  us  would  not  enter  it.  The 
sight  brought  vividly  to  mind  the  similar  spirit- worship 
wliich  went  on  among  the  Ronums  and  which  goes  on  to. 
day  in  China ;  but  I  could  not  ascertain  for  how  many 
generations  ])ack  an  ancestral  ghost  receives  these  atten- 
tions—a point  which  has  remained  obscure  iu  the  case  of 
Roman  ghosts  also. 

The  other  curiosity  is  much  more  modern.  It  is  a  de- 
serted native  village  called  Tchitiketi  ("  the  walled  town  "), 
which  has  been  rudely  fortified  with  three  concentric  lines 
of  defense,  in  a  way  not  comir.on  among  the  Kafirs.  The 
huts,  which  have  now  totally  disappeared,  stood  on  one 
side  of  a  rocky  eminence,  and  were  surrounded  by  a  sort 
of  ditch  ten  feet  deop,  within  which  was  a  row  o.  trees 

1  He  was  the  restive  chief  mentioned  on  the  last  preceding  page 
who  joined  in  tho  rising  of  1896,  and  was,  I  believe,  taken  prisoner 
and  shot. 

17 


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■  M 


I  ' 


Ml' 


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.  I 


/ 


258 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


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r 


planted  closely  together,  with  the  intervals  probably  origi- 
nally filled  by  a  stockade.  Some  of  these  trees  do  not 
grow  wild  in  this  part  of  the  country,  and  have  apparently 
been  planted  from  shoots  brought  from  the  Portuguese 
territories.  Within  this  outmost  line  there  was  a  second 
row  of  trees  and  a  rough  stone  wall,  forming  an  inner  de- 
fense. Still  farther  in  one  finds  a  kind  of  citadel,  formed 
partly  by  the  rocks  of  the  kopje,  partly  by  a  wall  of  rough 
stones,  ten  feet  high  and  seven  to  eight  feet  thick,  plas- 
tered with  mud,  which  holds  the  stones  together  like 
mortar.  This  wall  is  pierced  by  small  apertures,  which 
apparently  served  as  loopholes  for  arrows,  and  there  is  a 
sort  of  narrow  gate  through  it,  'only  four  and  a  haK  feet 
high,  covered  by  a  slab  of  stone.  Within  the  citadel,  sev- 
eral chiefs  are  buried  in  crevices  of  the  rock,  which  have 
been  walled  up ;  and  there  are  still  visible  the  remains  of 
the  huts  wherein,  upon  a  wicker  stand,  were  placed  the 
pots  that  held  the  beer  provided  for  their  ghosts.  Hav- 
ing ceased  to  be  {i  royal  residence  or  a  fortress,  the  spot 
remains,  like  the  Escurial,  a  place  of  royal  sepulture.  The 
natives  remember  the  uames  of  the  dead  chiefs,  but  little 
else,  and  cannot  tell  one  w^hen  the  fortress  was  built  nor 
why  it  was  forsaken.  Everything  is  so  rude  that  one  must 
suppose  the  use  of  loopholes  to  have  been  learned  from 
the  Portuguese,  who  apparently  came  from  time  to  time 
into  these  regions ;  and  the  rudeness  confirms  the  theory 
that  the  buildings  at  the  Great  Zimbabwye  were  not  the 
work  of  any  of  the  present  Bantu  tribes,  but  of  some  less 
barbarous  race. 

It  is  not  easy  to  find  one's  way  alone  over  the  country 
in  these  parts,  where  no  Kafir  speaks  English,  and  where 
the  network  of  native  foot-paths  crossing  one  another 
soon   confuses   recollection.    However,  having  a  distant 


/  • 


FROM   FOliT   SALISBURY   TO   THE   SEA 


259 


d 


mouiitain-peak  to  steer  my  course  by,  I  sueeeeded  in 
making-  my  way  back  alone,  and  was  pleased  to  find  that, 
though  the  sun  was  now  liigh  in  heaven  and  I  had  lu'ither 
a  sun-helmet  nor  a  white  umbrella,  its  rays  did  me  no 
harm.  A  stranger,  however,  can  take  liberties  with  the 
sun  which  residents  hold  it  safer  not  to  take,  Europeans 
in  these  countries  walk  as  little  as  they  can,  especially  in 
the  heat  of  the  day.  They  would  ride,  were  horses  attain- 
able, but  the  horse-sickness  makes  it  extremely  difficult 
to  find  or  to  retain  a  good  animal.  All  traveling  for  any 
distance  is  of  course  done  in  a  wagon  or  (where  one  can 
be  had)  in  a  Cape  cart. 

From  the  Lezapi  River  onward  the  scenery  grows  more 
striking  as  one  passes  immediately  beneath  some  of  the 
tall  towers  of  rock  which  we  had  previously  admired  from 
a  distance.  They  rendnd  one,  in  their  generally  gray  hue 
and  the  extreme  boldness  of  their  lines,  of  some  of  the 
gneissose  pinnacles  of  Norway,  such  as  those  above  Nae- 
rodal,  on  the  Sogne  Fiord.  One  of  them,  to  which  the 
English  have  given  the  name  of  the  Sugar  Loaf,  soars  in 
a  face  of  smooth  sheer  rock  nearly  1000  feet  above  the 
track,  the  lichens  that  cover  it  showing  a  wealth  of  rich 
colors,  greens  and  j'ellows  varied  here  and  there  b}'  long 
streaks  of  black  rain-drip.  Behind  this  summit  to  the 
northeast,  eight  to  twelve  miles  away,  rose  a  long  range  of 
sharp,  jagged  peaks,  perfectly  bare,  and  showing  by  their 
fine-cut  lines  the  hardness  of  their  rock.  They  were  not 
very  high,  at  most  2000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  i)lateau, 
which  is  liere  some  4000  feet  above  sea-level.  But  the 
nobility  of  their  forms,  and  their  clear  parched  sternness 
as  they  stood  in  the  intense  sunshine,  made  them  till  and 
satisfy  the  eye  beyond  what  one  would  have  expected  from 
their  height.     That  severe  and  even  forbidding  quality 


'1 


i  1 


} 


260 


IMPRESSIONS   OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


which  is  perceptihle  in  the  aspect  of  the  Soiitli  African 
mountains,  as  it  is  in  those  of  some  otlier  hot  (H)untnes, 
seems  to  be  due,  in  some  degree  at  least,  to  the  sense  of 
their  aridity  and  })areness.  One  feels  no  long:ing  to  climb 
them,  as  one  would  long  to  climb  a  picturcstjue  mountain 
in  Europe,  because  one  knows  that  upon  their  scorching 
sides  there  is  no  verdure  and  that  no  spring  breaks  from 
beneath  their  crags.  Beautifid  as  they  are,  they  are  re- 
pellent ;  they  invite  no  familiarity ;  they  speak  of  the  hard- 
ness, the  grimness,  the  silent  .aloofness  of  nature.  It  is 
only  when  they  form  the  distant  background  of  a  view, 
and  especially  when  the  waning  light  of  evening  clothes 
their  stern  forms  with  tender  hues,  that  thev  become  ele- 
ments  of  pure  delight  in  the  landscape. 

Some  fifteen  miles  east  of  this  range  we  came  upon  a 
natural  object  we  had  given  up  hoping  to  see  in  South 
Africa,  a  country  where  the  element  necessary  to  it  is  so 
markedly  deficient.  This  was  the  waterfall  on  the  Oudzi 
River,  one  of  tlie  tributaries  of  the  great  Sabi  River,  which 
falls  into  the  Indian  Ocean.  The  Oudzi  is  not  very  large 
in  the  dry  season,  nor  so  full  as  the  Garry  at  Killiecrankie 
or  the  stream  which  flows  through  the  Yosemite  Valley. 
But  even  this  represents  a  considerable  volume  of  water 
for  tropical  East  Africa;  and  the  rapid— it  is  really  rather 
a  rapid  than  a  cascade— must  be  a  grand  sight  after  heavy 
rain,  as  it  is  a  picturesque  sight  even  in  October.  The 
stream  rushes  over  a  ridge  of  very  hard  granite  rock,  in- 
tersected by  veins  of  finer-grained  granite  and  of  green- 
stone. It  has  cut  for  itself  several  deep  channels  in  the 
rock,  and  has  scooped  out  many  hollows,  not,  as  usually, 
circular,  but  elliptical  in  their  shape,  polished  smooth,  like 
the  little  x)ockets  or  basins  which  loose  stones  polish 
smooth  as  they  are  driven  round  and  round  by  the  cur- 


H 


] 


^ 


FROM  FORT   SALISBURY  TO  THE   SEA 


261 


rent  in  the  rocky  bed  of  a  Scotcli  torrent.  The  brip^litness 
of  the  clear  green  water  and  the  softness  of  tlie  surrounding 
woods,  clothing  each  side  of  the  long  valley  down  which 
the  eye  pursues  the  stream  till  the  vista  is  closed  by  dis- 
tant mountains,  make  these  falls  one  of  the  most  novel 
and  charming  bits  of  scenery  even  in  this  romantic  land. 
One  more  pleasant  surprise  was  in  store  for  us  before  we 
reached  Mtali.  We  had  seen  from  some  wav  otf  a  mass  of 
brilliant  crimson  on  a  steep  hillside.  Coming  close  under, 
we  saw  it  to  be  a  wood  whose  trees  were  covered  with  fresh 
leaves.  The  locnsts  had  eaten  oif  all  the  first  leaves  three 
weeks  before,  and  this  was  the  second  crop.  Such  a  wealth 
of  intense  yet  delicate  reds  of  all  hues,  pink,  crimson,  and 
scarlet,  sometimes  passing  into  a  flushed  green,  sometimes 
into  an  umber  brown,  I  have  never  seen,  not  even  in  the 
autumn  woods  of  North  America,  where,  as  on  the  moun- 
tain that  overhangs  Montreal  or  round  the  Saranac  Lakes, 
the  forest  is  aflame  with  the  glow  of  the  maples.  The 
spring,  if  one  may  give  that  name  to  the  season  of  the  first 
summer  rains,  is  for  South  Africa  the  time  of  colors,  as  is 
the  autumn  in  our  temperate  climes. 

Mtali— it  is  often  written  "Umtali"  to  express  that 
vague  half- vowel  which  comes  at  the  beginning  of  so  many 
words  in  the  Bantu  languages— is  a  pretty  little  settlement 
in  a  valley  whose  sheltered  position  would  make  it  oppres- 
sive but  for  the  strong  easterly  breeze  which  blows  nearly 
every  day  during  the  hot  weather.  There  is  plenty  of 
good  water  in  the  hills  all  round,  and  the  higher  slopes  are 
green  with  fresh  grass.  The  town,  like  other  towns  in 
these  regions,  is  constructed  of  corrugated  iron,— for  wood 
is  scarce  and  dear,— with  a  few  brick- walled  houses  and 
a  fringe  of  native  huts,  while  the  outskirts  are  deformed 
by  a  thick  deposit  of  empty  tins  of  preserved  meat  and 

17' 


li 


In 


'ir:i 


it 


I 


I 


^f 


262 


IMPRESSIONS   OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


til 


H 


petroleum.  All  the  roofs  fire  of  iron,  and  a  prudent  luiilder 
puts  iron  also  into  tlie  foundation  of  the  walls  beneath 
the  brick,  in  order  to  circumvent  the  white  ants.  These 
insects  are  one  of  the  four  plagues  of  South  Central  Africa. 
(The  other  three  are  locusts,  horse-sickness,  and  fever.) 
They  destroy  every  scrap  of  organic  matter  they  can  reach, 
and  will  even  eat  their  way  through  brick  to  reach  wood 
or  any  other  vegetable  matter  above  or  within  the  brick. 
Nothing  but  metal  stops  them.  They  work  in  the  dark, 
constructing  for  themselves  a  kind  of  tunnel  or  gallery  if 
they  have  to  pass  along  an  open  space,  as,  for  instance,  to 
reach  books  upon  a  shelf.  (I  was  taken  to  see  the  public 
library  at  Mtali,  and  found  they  had  destroyed  nearly  half 
of  it.)  They  are  small,  less  than  half  an  inch  long,  of  a 
dull  grayish  white,  the  queen,  or  female,  about  three  times 
as  large  as  the  others.  Her  quarters  are  in  a  sort  of  nest 
deep  in  the  ground,  and  if  this  nest  can  l>e  found  and  de- 
stroyed the  plague  will  be  stayed,  for  a  tijne  at  least.  There 
are  several  other  kinds  of  ants.  The  small  red  ant  gets 
among  one's  provisions  and  devours  the  cold  chicken. 
We  spent  weary  hours  in  trying  to  get  them  out  of  our 
food-boxes,  being  unable  to  fall  in  with  the  local  view 
that  they  ought  to  be  eaten  with  the  meat  they  swarm 
over,  as  a  sort  of  relish  to  it.  There  is  also  the  large  red- 
dish-black ant,  which  bites  fiercely,  but  is  regarded  with 
favor  because  it  kills  the  white  ants  when  it  can  get  at 
them.  But  the  white  ant  is  by  far  the  most  pernicious 
kind,  and  a  real  curse  to  the  country. 

At  the  end  of  1896,  when  the  construction  of  the  Beira 
railway  from  Chimoj^o  to  Fort  Salisbur}"  began  to  be 
energetically  prosecuted,  it  was  found  that  to  take  the 
line  past  Mtali  w^ould  involve  a  detour  of  some  miles 
and  a  heavy  gradient  in  crossing  a  ridge  at  the  Cliristmas 


u  V 


FROM   FOKT   8ALISHURY   TU   THE   8EA 


'JCIl 


Pass.  Mr.  Rliodes  promptly  tU'torniiued,  instead  of  l)riiig'- 
ing  the  railway  to  the  town,  to  ])rin<'-  the  town  to  the  ruil- 
way.  Lil)eral  eeinpeusation  was  ae('()rdin<ily  paid  to  all 
those  who  had  built  houses  at  old  Mtali,  and  new  Mtali  is 
now  (1897)  rising  on  a  earefuUy  selected  site  seven  miles 
away. 

In  1895  there  were  about  one  hundred  Europeans  in  the 
town  of  Mtali,  all,  except  the  Comi)any's  ofificiids  and  the 
storekeepers,  engaged  in  prospecting  for  or  beginning  to 
work  gold-mines ;  for  this  is  the  center  of  one  of  the  lirst- 
explort  "■  gold  districts,  and  sanguine  lioi)es  have  been  enter- 
tained of  its  reefs.  We  drove  out  to  see  some  of  the  most 
promising  in  the  Penha  Longa  Vj^Uey,  six  miles  to  the 
eastward.  Here  three  sets  of  galleries  have  been  cut,  and 
the  extraction  of  the  metal  was  said  to  be  ready  to  begin 
if  the  machinery  could  be  brought  u[)  from  the  coast.  As 
to  the  value  and  prospects  of  the  reefs,  over  which  I  was 
most  courteously  shown  by  the  gentlemen  directing  the 
operations,  I  could  of  course  form  no  oi)inion.  They  are 
quartz-reefs,  occurring  in  talcose  and  chloritic  schistose 
rocks,  and  some  of  them  maintain  their  direction  for  many 
miles.  There  is  no  better  place  than  this  valley  ^  for  ex- 
amining the  ancient  gold-workings,  for  here  they  are  of 
great  size.  Huge  masses  of  alluvial  sf)il  in  the  bottom  of 
the  valley  had  evidently  been  worked  over^,  and  indeed  a 
few  laborers  are  still  employed  upon  these.  But  there  had 
also  been  extensive  open  cuttings  all  along  the  principal 
reefs,  the  traces  of  which  are  visible  in  the  deep  trenches 
following  the  line  of  the  reefs  up  and  down  the  slopes  of 
the  hills,  and  in  the  masses  of  rubbish  thrown  out  beside 

1  It  was  here  only,  on  the  banks  of  a  stream,  that  I  observed  the 
extremely  handsome  arboraceous  ot.-Johu's-wort  (Uypcricum  Schim- 
pcri),  mentioned  on  page  28. 


I 


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,    ^  ■ 


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:i: 


f 


264 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


Ji 


them.  Some  of  these  cuttings  are  evidently  recent,  for 
the  sides  are  in  places  steep  and  even  abrupt,  which  they 
would  not  be  if  during  riiany  years  the  rains  had  been 
washing  the  earth  down  into  the  trenches.  Moreover,  iron 
implements  have  been  found  at  the  bottom,  of  modern 
shapes  and  very  little  oxidized.  Probably,  therefore, 
while  some  of  these  workings  may  be  of  great  antiquity, 
others  are  quite  recent— perhaps  less  than  a  century  old. 
Such  workings  occur  in  many  places  over  Mashonaland 
and  Matabililand.  They  are  always  open ;  that  is  to  say, 
the  reef  was  worked  down  from  the  surface,  not  along 
a  tunnel— a  fact  which  has  made  people  think  that  they 
were  carried  on  by  natives  only,  and  they  always  stop 
when  water  is  reached,  as  though  the  miners  had  known 
nothing  of  pumps.  Tradition  has  nothing  to  say  as  to 
the  workings ;  but  we  know  that  during  the  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries  a  good  deal  of  gold  was  brought 
down  to  the  Portuguese  coast  stations;  and  when  the 
Mashonaland  pioneers  cume  in  1890,  there  were  still  a  few 
Portuguese  trying  to  get  the  metal  out  of  the  alluvial 
deposits  along  the  stream  banks.  The  reefs,  which  are 
now  being  followed  by  level  shafts  or  galleries  driven 
into  the  sides  of  the  hills,  are  (in  most  cases  at  least)  the 
same  as  those  which  the  old  miners  attacked  from  above. 
North  of  Penha  Longa  lies  an  attractive  bit  of  country, 
near  a  place  called  Inyanga,  which,  unfortunately,  we  had 
not  time  to  visit.  It  is  a  sort  of  table-land  about  thirty 
miles  long  by  fifteen  wide,  from  GOOO  to  7000  feet  above  sea- 
levei,  with  the  highest  summits  reaching  8000  feet ;  and  in 
respect  of  its  height  enjoys  not  only  a  keen  and  bracing 
air,  but  a  copious  rainfall,  which  makes  it  a  specially 
good  grazing-country.  It  will  probably  one  day  become 
not  only  the  choicest  ranching-ground  of  East  Central 


in      > 


\\ 


ll'l 


FROM  FORT   SALISBURY  TO  THE  SEA 


205 


■s 


Africa,  but  also  a  health  resort  from  the  siirrouiuling 
countries.  At  present  it  is  quite  empty,  the  laud  having 
been,  as  I  was  told,  bought  up  by  several  syndicates,  who 
are  holding  it  in  hope  of  a  rise  in  prices.  Here  are  the 
remarkable  stone-cased  pits  (referred  to  in  Chapter  IX) ; 
and  here  there  are  also  numerous  ancient  artifi(dal  water- 
courses for  irrigating  the  soil,  which  were  probably,  Mr. 
Rhodes  thinks,  constructed  by  some  race  of  immigrants 
accustomed  to  artificial  irrigation  in  their  own  country, 
for  it  would  hardly  have  occurred  to  natives  to  construct 
such  works  here,  where  the  rainfall  is  sufficient  for  the 
needs  of  tillage.  Still  farther  to  the  north  is  a  less  elevated 
region,  remarkable  for  the  traces  it  bears  of  having  been 
at  one  time  densely  populated.  Tillage  was  so  extensive 
that  the  very  hillsides  were  built  up  into  terraces  to  be 
planted  with  crops.  To-day  there  are  hardly  any  inhabi- 
tants, for  a  good  many  years  ago  Mzila,  the  father  of 
Gungunhana,  chief  of  a  fierce  and  powerful  tribe  which 
lives  on  the  lower  course  of  the  Sabi  River,  raided  all  this 
country,  and  in  successive  invasions  killed  off  or  chased 
away  the  whole  population.  Such  wholesale  slaughter 
and  devastation  is  no  uncommon  thing  in  the  annals  of 
South  Africa.  Tshaka,  the  uncle  of  Cetewayo,  annihilated 
the  inhabitants  over  immense  tracts  round  Zululand  And 
in  comparison  with  such  bloodthirsty  methods  the  Assyrian 
plan  of  deporting  conquered  populations  from  their  homes 
to  some  distant  land  may  have  seemed,  and  indeed  may 
have  been,  a  substantial  step  in  human  progress.  How- 
ever, just  when  Tshaka  was  massacring  his  Kafir  neigh- 
bors, the  Turks  were  massacring  the  Christians  of  Chios, 
and  at  the  time  of  our  visit,  in  October,  1895,  Abdul-Hamid 
was  beginning  his  massacres  in  Asia  Minor;  so  perhaps 
the  less  said  about  progress  the  better, 


I 


f  .K.   I 


f 


206 


IMI'J^KSHIUNS   OF   SOUTH   AFKK'A 


f        h 


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,1! ' ' 


( 


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I: 


il 


The  track  from  jNItali  to  tlio  soa  crosses  a  lii«?li  rid^e 
at  a  point  called  the  Christinus  I'ass,  and  descends  into 
Portn^nese  territory  throujih  some  very  nobh;  and  varied 
mountain  seenery.^  It  reminded  ns  sometimes  of  the 
Italian  slopes  of  the  eastern  Ali)S,  sometimes  of  the  best 
parts  of  the  Perthshire  lli^^hlands,  thonijfh  of  course  it  was 
rather  in  the  forms  of  hill  and  valley  than  in  the  trees  that 
ch)thed  tlieir  sloi)es  that  this  resemblance  lay.  The  first 
Portuj^uese  settk^ment  is  at  a  phiee  called  Macequece,  or 
Massikessi,  where  the  pioneers  of  the  British  South  Africa 
Company  conducted  in  1891  a  little  war  on  their  own  ac- 
count with  the  Portuguese,  whose  superior  forces  they 
routed.  The  Portuguese  claimed  all  this  inland  region  on 
the  Hinterland  principle,  in  respect  of  theii*  ownership  of 
the  coast,  while  the  British  pioneers  relied  on  the  fact  that 
their  adversaries  had  never  established  a  really  effective 
occupation.  The  dispute  was  carried  by  the  Portuguese 
Mozambique  Company  into  the  English  courts  of  law,-  and 
was  ultimately  adjusted  diplomatically  by  an  agreement 
between  the  British  and  Portuguese  governments,  signed 
June  11, 1891.  The  delimitation  of  the  frontiers  was  not 
fully  completed  in  this  region  till  1896,  but  Massikessi  was 
by  the  treaty  of  1891  left  to  Portugal.  After  Massikessi 
the  mountains  recede,  and  wide  plains  begin  to  open  to  the 
east  and  south.  As  the  country  sinks,  the  temperature 
rises  and  the  air  grows  heavier  and  less  keen.  The  ground 
is  covered  with  wood,  and  in  the  woods  along  the  streams 
a  few  palms  and  bamboos  and  other  tropical  forms  of 
vegetation  begin  to  appear.  But  we  found  the  woods  in 
many  places  stripped  bare.     Terrible  swarms  of  locusts 

1  It  is  in  the  midst  of  this  scenery  that  new  Mtali  is  being  now 
built  (1897). 

2  Law  Reports  for  1893,  A.  C,  p.  602. 


FUOM   FU14T   SALISIUKY   TO   TIIK   SKA 


\Hi7 


had  passed,  leaving  a  track  of  dismal  bareness.  It  had 
been  a  dry  year,  too,  and  oven  wliat  jjfi'ass  tlie  locusts  had 
s^Mired  was  thin  and  withered.  Thus  for  want  of  food 
the  cattle  had  pcrislicd.  All  alon«:r  the  road  from  Mtali 
v«'e  saw  oxen  lyin<;:  dead,  often  hy  some  pool  in  a  brook, 
to  whi(!h  thcv  had  staajjrered  to  drink,  and  where  thev  lav 
down  to  die.  We  encountered  few  wagons,  and  those  few 
were  almost  all  standinf]^  with  the  team  unyoked,  some  of 
their  beasts  dead  or  sickly,  some,  too  weak  to  draw  tht  load 
farther,  obliged  to  stand  idly  where  they  had  halted  (ill  the 
animals  should  regain  strength,  <.r  fresh  oxeu  be  procured. 
This  is  what  a  visitation  of  locusts  means,  aiul  this  is  how 
the  progress  of  the  country  is  retarded  by  the  sto}^page  af 
the  only  nu'ans  of  transport.  No  wonder  that  over  all  the 
districts  we  had  traversed,  from  Fort  Salisbury  southward, 
the  cry  had  been  for  the  completion  of  the  railway.  It  is, 
indeed,  the  first  need  of  these  territories ;  and  those  who 
have  seen  what  the  want  of  it  has  nu-ant  are  rejoiced  to 
think  that  by  the  end  of  1897  it  will  probal)ly  1  ave  reached 
Mtali,  and  in  a  year  or  two  more  have  been  "arried  on  to 
Fort  Salisbury.  As  far  as  Mj'ssikessi  there  viil  be  no  great 
difficult}',  for,  though  the  country  is  hilly,  the  gradients 
need  seldoM  be  severe.  Thence  northward  across  the 
mountains  for  some  distance  skilful  engineering  will  be 
required.  But  in  South  Africa,  as  in  western  America, 
railways  are  built  in  a  rough-and-ready  way,  which  recks 
little  of  obstacles  that  wouU  prove  very  costly  in  Europe. 
We  reached  the  present  terminus  of  the  railway  at 
Chimoyo  after  two  days'  long  and  fatiguing  travel  from 
Mtali,  including  an  upset  of  our  vehicle  in  descending  a 
steep  donga  to  the  bed  of  a  streamlet— an  upr.ofc  which 
might  easily  have  proved  serious,  but  gave  us  nothing 
worse  than  a  few  bruises.     The  custom  being  to  start  a 


II 


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V 


208 


lMr>RE8.SIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


train  in  tlio  nftornoon  nnd  run  it  tliroufjli  tho  nipht,— aa 
yet  all  trains  arc  [)ra('ti('ally  special,  — we  liad  plenty  of  time 
to  look  round  tlie  i)laee,  and  fortunately  found  a  coinfor- 
tablo  inn  and  a  most  genial  Scottish  landlord  from  liantf- 
sliire.  Tlici'e  was,  however,  nothinjjf  to  see,  not  even  Portu- 
guese local  (iolor;  for  though  C'himoyo  is  well  within  the 
Portuguese  frontier,  the  village  is  purely  British,  living  by 
the  transi)ort  service  which  nuikes  the  end  of  the  railway 
its  starting-point  for  the  territories  of  the  Company.  Hav- 
ing nothing  else  to  do,  I  climbed  through  the  sultry  noon 
to  the  top  of  the  nearest  kopje,  a  steep  granite  hill  which, 
as  I  was  afterward  told,  is  a  favorite  ^'  house  of  call "  for 
lions.  No  forest  monarch,  however,  presented  himself  to 
welcome  me,  and  I  was  left  to  enjoy  the  view  alone.  It  was 
striking.  Guarding  the  western  horizon  rose  the  long 
..hain  of  mountains  from  which  we  had  emerged,  stretching 
in  a  huge  arc  from  southeast  to  north,  with  some  bold  out- 
lying peaks  flung  forward  from  the  main  mass,  all  by  their 
sharp,  stern  outlines,  in  which  similar  forms  were  con- 
stantly repeated,  showing  that  they  were  built  of  the  same 
hard  crystalline  rocks.  Beneath,  the  country  spread  out 
in  a  vast,  wooded  plain,  green  or  brown,  according  as  the 
wood  was  denser  in  one  part  and  sparser  in  another.  It 
was  still  low  wood,  with  no  sense  of  tropical  luxuriance 
about  it,  and  the  ground  still  dry,  with  not  a  glimpse  of 
water  anywhere.  Here  and  there  isolated  heights  rose 
out  of  this  sea  of  wood,  whose  abrupt  craggy  tops  glis- 
tened in  the  sunlight.  To  the  east  the  plain  fell  slowly 
away  to  an  immensely  distant  horizon,  where  lay  the 
deadly  flats  that  border  the  Indian  Ocean.  Except  where 
the  iron  roofs  of  the  huts  at  Chimoyo  shone,  there  was  not 
a  sign  of  human  dwelling  or  human  labor  through  this 
great  wild  country,  ^  >dng  still  and  monotonous  under  a 


I'   c 


I', 


FHUM   FORT   SALISIUHY   TO   THE  SKA 


200 


cloudless  skv.  It  has  Ixmmi  a  wildrrncss  from  tlie  boirin- 
niii^  of  tlic  world  until  now,  traversed,  no  doubt,  many 
centuries  a^^o  l»y  the  p»ld-seekers  whose  favorite  track 
^,'ent  up  from  the  c(»ast  })ast  Cireat  Zimhahwye  into  what 
is  now  Matahililand,  traversed  apiin  occasionally  in  h'ter 
tinu's  by  Portuj,niese  traders,  hut  in  no  wise  altered  during 
those  thousands  of  years  from  its  original  aspect.  Now 
at  last  its  tuiMi  has  conu'.  A  new  race  of  gold  seekers 
have  built  a  railway,  and  ahmg  the  railway,  wherev«'r 
ther«i  arc  not  swamps  to  breed  tV'Ver,  the  land  will  be  taken 
for  farms,  and  the  woods  will  bo  cut  down,  ami  the  wild 
beasts  will  slink  away,  aiul  trading-posts  will  grow  into 
villages,  and  the  journey  from  Beira  to  Kulawayo  will 
become  as  easy  and  familiar  as  is  to-djiy  the  journey  from 
Chicago  to  Han  Francisco,  through  a  country  which  a  cen- 
tury ago  was  as  little  known  as  this  African  wilderness. 

The  railway  from  Chimovo  to  tlie  sea  has  one  of  the 
narrowest  gages  in  the  world  (two  feet),  and  its  tiny  loco- 
motives and  cars  hav(!  almost  a  toy  air.  It  has,  however, 
rendered  two  immense  services  to  this  region :  it  has 
abridged  the  toilsome  and  costly  ox  transport  of  goods 
from  Beira  to  the  edge  of  the  high  conntry— a  transport 
whose  diflfieulty  lay  not  merely  in  the  badness  of  the  track 
through  ground  almost  impassable  during  and  after  the 
rains,  but  also  in  the  prevalence  of  the  tsetse-fly,  whose 
bite  is  fatal  to  cattle ;  anJ  it  carries  travelers  in  a  few 
hours  across  one  of  the  most  unhealthy  regions  in  the 
world,  most  of  which  is  infested  by  fevers  in  and  after  the 
wet  season,  and  the  lower  parts  of  which  are  so  malarious 
that  few  who  spend  three  nights  in  them,  ev<m  in  the  dry 
season,  escape  :in  attack.  Things  will  doubtless  improve 
when  the  country  grows  more  settled,  and  the  marshes 
have  been  drained,  and  the  long  grass  has  been  eaten  down 


\ 


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270 


IMI'liKSSlONS   UF  SOUTH   AFRICA 


by  i'jittlc ;  for  wlioii  the  tsotse-fly  coasoa  to  bo  danj^iTous 
cjitMc  nuiy  como  in.  It  iippt'Jirs  tlmt  the  fly  kills  ciittlL'  not 
})y  uiiytliiiij,'  poisonous  in  its  bito,  l»iit  bci^uusi'  it  conimiini- 
(uiti's  to  tliciii  u  minute  panisite  \vhi(!h  lives  in  the  blood 
of  sonif  kinds  of  pmie,  and  whieh  is  more  pcrniiuous  to 
cattle  than  it  is  to  tln^  ^ame.  Aeeordinj^ly,  when  the  pime 
vanishes,  the  lly  either  vanishes  also  or  beeo:nes  eom})ara- 
tively  harndess.  Already  phices  onee  infested  by  it  have 
by  the  disappearanee  of  the  game  become  available  for 
ranehing.  Recent  researches  seem  to  have  shown  that 
nudarial  fevers  in  man  are  also  due  to  an  animal  parasite ; 
and  this  discovery  is  thought  to  damp  tlie  hope,  whieh  I  rc- 
mendjer  to  liave  heard  Mr.  Darwin  express,  that  the  fevev- 
stricken  regions  of  the  troi)ics  might  become  safe  jy 
ascertaining  what  the  fever  niicrol)e  is  and  securing  men 
against  it  by  inoculation.  But  the  banks  of  the  rivers  and 
other  damper  spots  will  still  continue  to  breed  this  curse  of 
maritime  Africa.  The  railway  was  made  entirely  by  native 
labor  gathered  from  the  surrounding  regions,  and  the  con- 
tractors told  me  they  had  less  difficulty  with  the  Kafirs  than 
they  expected.  It  paid,  however,  a  heavy  toll  in  European 
life.  Not  one,  I  think,  of  the  engineers  and  foremen  escaped 
fever,  and  many  died.  The  risk  for  those  employed  on  the 
line  is  of  course  now  much  slighter,  because  the  worst  spots 
are  known  and  there  are  now  houses  to  sleep  in.  There  is 
talk  of  widening  the  line,  whose  small  trucks  would  be  un- 
ecjual  to  a  heavy  traflfie.  But  considering  the  difficulties 
overcome,  especially  in  the  swampy  lands  toward  the  coast, 
great  parts  of  which  are  flooded  in  January  and  February, 
it  reflects  great  credit  on  those  who  constructed  it. 

Shortly  after  leaving  Chimoyo  the  train  ran  through 
a  swarm  of  locusts  miles  long.  It  was  a  beautiful  sight. 
The  creatures  flash  like  red  snowflakes  in  the  sun;  the 


FK'OM    I'OK'T   SAI-lSl'.ncV   TO  TIIK   SKA 


•J  71 


air  j^littcrs  with  tlicir  ^'iiu/y  winj^s.  lint  it  is  also  iip- 
pailin;j'.  An  «'artli<|i»jik<'  or  a  volfuiiic  «'niittion  is  iianlly 
inoni  (IfstriH'tivi'  and  liaidly  more  irrcsistihlc.  The 
swarms  niav  be  conihattMl  when  tiir  insect  walks  alon<M he 
j^ronnd,  tor  then  trcnrlu's  may  lie  i\\i^  into  which  the 
advancing' liost  falls.  Hnt  when  it  flics  nothing'  ean  stop 
it.  It  is  noteworthy  tluit  for  ei^^htccn  years  jtrior  to  tlie 
arrival  of  tlu^  Bi'itish  pioin-ers  in  1S!U)  thci'c  had  Im'cu  no 
l^reat  swarms.  Since  that  year  there  have  been  several; 
so  the  Kalir  thinks  that  it  is  the  white  man's  eondnjxthat 
lias  provoked  tlu'  i)OVvers  of  evil  to  send  the  pla}4"ne. 

We  ran  down  the  one  hnndred  and  ei«,diteeu  miles  from 
Chimoyo  to  Font«'svilla  dnrini;  the  aftennxm  and  nijjht, 
lialtinji^  for  three  or  four  hours  for  dinner  at  a  clearing 
where  a  hotel  and  store  luive  been  built.  The  paei*  was 
from  ten  to  fifteen  miles  an  hour.  After  the  first  twenty 
miles,  durinj;-  which  one  still  has  j^limpses  of  tlie  stranj^e, 
isolated  peaks  that  sja'in^  up  here  and  then;  from  the 
plain,  the  S(^enery  becomes  ratlier  nuuiotonous,  for  tlie  lino 
runs  most  of  the  way  through  thick  forest,  the  trees  ln«,'her 
than  those  of  the  interi<)r,  yet  not  of  any  rcnuirkable 
beaiitv.  For  the  last  twent.'-five  miles  the  railway  trav- 
erses  a  dead  and  dreary  Hat.  The  jrentle  rise  of  the  ground 
to  the  west  conceals  even  the  outlyin<if  spurs  of  the  j^reat 
ranji^e  l)ehind,  and  to  the  north  and  south  tliere  is  an  nn- 
broken  level.  The  soil  is  said  to  be  o-cnerally  poor,  ayery 
thin  layer  of  vcf^^'table  mold  lyin«?  over  sand,  and  the 
trees  are  few  and  seldom  tall.  It  is  a  country  full  of  all 
sorts  of  jjame,  frcmi  Itutfaloes,  elands,  and  koodoos  down- 
ward to  th«'  small  anteloix's ;  and  as  fjame  ab(mnds,  so  also 
do  lions  abound.  The  early  morning"  is  the  time  when 
most  of  these  creatures  <i()  out  to  feed,  and  we  strained 
our  eyes  as  soon  as  there  was  light  enough  to  make  them 


I. 


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272 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


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out  from  the  car  windows.  But  beyond  some  wild  pig  and 
hartebeest,  and  a  few  of  the  smaller  antelopes,  nothing 
could  be  discerned  upon  the  pastures  or  among  the  tree- 
clumps.  Perhaps  the  creatures  have  begun  to  learn  that 
the  railroad  brings  their  enemies,  and  keep  far  away  from 
it.  A  year  after  our  visit  the  murrain,  to  which  I  have 
alreuJy  referred,  appeared  in  this  region,  and  has  now 
wrought  fearful  devastation  among  the  wild  animals, 
espe(5ially  the  buifaloes. 

The  railway  now  runs  all  the  way  from  Chimoyo  to  the 
port  of  Beira,  but  in  October,  1895,  came  to  an  end  at  a 
place  called  Fontesvilla,  on  the  Pungwe  River,  near  the 
hifrhest  point  to  which  the  tide  rises.  We  had  therefore 
to  rake  to  the  river  in  order  to  reach  Beira,  where  a  Ger- 
man steamer  was  timed  to  call  two  days  later;  and  our 
friends  in  Mashonaland  had  prepared  us  to  expect  some 
disagreeable  experiences  on  the  river,  warning  us  not  to 
assume  that  twelve  or  fourteen  hours  would  be  enough, 
even  in  a  steamer,  to  accomplish  the  fifty  miles  of  naviga- 
tion that  lie  between  Fontesvilla  and  the  sea.  They  had 
been  specially  insistent  that  we  should  remain  in  Fontes- 
villa itself  no  longer  than  was  absolutely  necessary;  for 
Fontesvilla  has  the  reputation  of  being  the  most  unhealthy 
spot  in  all  this  unhealthy  country.  We  were  told  that  the 
preceding  year  liad  been  a  salubrious  one,  for  only  forty- 
two  per  cent,  of  the  European  residents  had  died.  There 
may  have  been  some  element  of  exaggeration  in  these 
figures,  but  the  truth  they  were  intended  to  convey  is  be- 
yond dispute  ;  and  the  bright  young  assistant  superinten- 
dent of  the  railroad  was  mentioned,  with  evident  wonder, 
as  the  only  person  who  had  been  more  than  three  months 
in  the  place  without  a  bad  attack  of  fever.  Fontesvilla  has 
not  the  externals  of  a  charnel-house.     It  consists  of  seven 


FROM   FORT   SALISBURY   TO   THE   SEA 


273 


he- 


or  eight  scattered  frame  houses,  with  roofs  of  corrugated 
iron,  set  in  a  didl,  featureless  flat  on  the  banks  of  a  muddy 
river.  The  air  is  sultry  and  depressing,  but  has  not  that 
foul  swamp  smell  with  which  Poti,  on  the  Black  Sea,  reeks, 
the  most  malarious  spot  I  had  ever  before  visited.  Nor 
was  there  much  stagnant  water  visible ;  indeed,  the  ground 
seemed  dry,  though  there  are  marshes  hidden  among  the 
woods  on  the  other  side  of  the  river.  As  neither  of  the 
steamers  that  ply  on  the  Pungwe  could  come  up  at  neap 
tides,  and  with  the  stream  low,— for  the  rains  had  not  yet 
set  in,— the  young  superintendent  (to  whose  friendly  help 
we  were  much  beholden)  had  bespoken  a  rowboat  to  come 
up  for  us  from  the  lf)wer  part  of  the  river.  After  waiting 
from  eight  till  half -past  ten  o'clock  for  this  boat,  we  began 
to  fear  it  had  failed  us,  and,  hastily  engaging  a  small  two- 
oared  one  that  lay  by  the  bank,  set  off  in  it  down  the  stream. 
Fortunately,  after  two  and  a  half  miles  the  other  boat,  a 
heavy  old  tub,  was  seen  slowly  making  her  way  upward, 
having  on  board  the  captain  of  the  little  steam-launch,  the 
launch  herself  being  obliged  to  remain  nnich  lower  down 
the  river.  We  transferred  ourselves  an:l  our  effects  to  this 
boat,  and  floated  gaily  down,  thinking  our  troubles  over. 
The  Pungwe  is  here  about  one  hundred  yards  wide,  but 
very  shallow,  and  with  its  water  so  turbid  that  we  could 
not  see  the  bottom  where  it  was  more  than  two  feet  below 
the  surface.  It  was  noon ;  the  breeze  had  dropped,  and 
the  sun  was  so  strong  that  we  gladly  took  refuge  in  the 
little  cabin,  or  rather  covered  box,— a  sort  of  hen-coop,— 
at  the  stern.  The  stream  and  the  tide  were  with  us,  and 
we  had  four  native  rowers,  but  our  craft  was  so  heavy  that 
we  accomplished  barely  two  miles  an  hour.  As  the  chan- 
nel grew  wider  and  the  current  spread  itself  hither  and 
thither  over  sand-banks,  the  bed  became  more  shallow, 

18 


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274 


IMPRESSIONS   OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


)i  .  • 


*  r 


and  from  time  to  time  we  grounded.  When  this  hap- 
pened, the  native  rowers  jumped  into  the  water  and  pushed 
or  puUed  tlie  boat  along.  The  farther  down  we  went,  and 
the  more  the  river  widened,  so  much  the  more  often  did 
we  take  the  bottom,  and  the  harder  did  we  find  it  to  get 
afloat  again.  Twelve  miles  below  Fontesvilla,  a  river 
called  the  Biginiiti  comes  in  on  the  right,  and  at  its  mouth 
we  took  on  board  a  bold  young  English  sportsman  with  the 
skin  of  a  huge  lion.  Below  the  confluence,  where  a  maze 
of  sand-l)anks  encumbers  the  channel,  we  encountered  a 
strong  easterly  breeze.  The  big  clumsy  boat  made  scarcely 
any  way  against  it,  and  stuck  upon  the  sand  so  often  that 
the  Kafirs,  who  certainly  worked  with  a  will,  were  more 
than  half  the  time  in  the  water  up  to  their  knees,  tugging 
and  shoving  to  get  her  off.  Meanwhile  the  tide,  what 
there  was  of  it,  was  ebbing  fast,  and  the  captain  admitted 
tliat  if  we  did  not  get  across  these  shoals  vv'ithin  half  Jin 
hour  we  should  certainly  lie  fast  upon  them  till  next  morn- 
ing at  least,  and  how  much  longer  no  one  could  tell.  It 
was  not  a  pleasant  prospect,  for  we  had  no  food  except 
some  biscuits  and  a  tin  of  cocoa,  and  a  night  on  the 
Pungwe,  with  pestiferous  swamps  all  round,  meant  almost 
certainly  an  attack  of  fever.  Nothing,  however,  could  be 
done  beyond  Avhat  the  captain  and  the  Kafirs  were  doing, 
so  tha,t  suspense  was  weighted  by  no  sense  of  personal  re- 
sponsibility. We  moved  alternately  from  stern  to  bow, 
and  back  from  bow  to  stern,  to  lighten  the  boat  at  one  end 
or  tlie  other,  and  looked  to  windward  to  see  from  the  sharp 
curl  of  the  waves  whether  the  gusts  which  stopped  our  pro- 
gress were  freshening  further.  Fortunately  they  abated. 
Just  as  the  captain  seemed  to  be  giving  up  hope— the  only 
fault  we  had  with  him  was  that  his  face  revealed  too 
plainly  his  anxieties— we  felt  ourselves  glide  off  into  a 


•/  Q 


FROM   FOKT   SALISBURY   TO   THE   SKA 


27i3 


dcoper  channel ;  tlie  Kafirs  jumped  in  juid  smote  the  dark- 
brown  eurrent  witli  tlieir  oars,  and  the  prospeet  of  a  rest- 
ful nig'ht  at  Beira  rose  onee  more  before  us.  But  our 
diffieulties  were  not  (juite  over,  for  we  jj^-rounded  several 
times  aftei'ward,  and  prog-ress  was  so  slow  that  it  seemed 
vei'v  doubtful  whether  we  should  lind  and  reach  before 
dark  the  litth'  steam-launeh  that  had  come  up  to  meet  us. 
Ever  since  my  chihlish  imajj^'ination  had  l)een  cai)tivated 
In'  the  i)ictur(!  of  Afric's  sunnv  fountains  rollini;  down 
their  golden  sand,  the  idea  of  ti-aversing  a  tropical  forest 
on  the  bosom  of  a  great  African  river  liad  j'etained  its  fas- 
cination. Here  at  last  was  the  realit\',  and  what  a  drearv 
reality !  The  shallow,  muddy  stream,  bi'oken  into  numy 
channels,  which  inclosed  low,  sandy  islets,  had  si)read  to  a 
width  of  two  miles.  The  alluvial  baidcs,  rising  twentv  feet 
in  alternate  lavers  of  sand  and  clav,  cut  off  anv  view  of 
the  country  behind.  All  that  could  be  seen  was  a  fringe 
of  thick,  low  trees,  the  edge  of  the  forest  that  ran  back 
from  th(!  river.  Conspicuous  among  them  was  the  ill- 
omened  ''fever-tree,"  with  its  gaunt,  l)are,  ungainly  arms 
and  yellow  bark— the  tree  whose  presence  indicates  a  pesti- 
lential air.  Here  was  no  luxuriant  variety  of  form,  no 
wealth  of  color,  no  festooned  creepers  nor  l)rilliant  tiowers, 
but  a  dull  and  sad  monotony,  as  we  doubled  point  after 
point  and  saw  reach  after  reach  of  the  featui'cless  str'"im 
spread  out  before  us.  Amcmg  the  trees  not  a  bird  was  to 
be  seen  or  heard;  few  even  fluttered  on  the  bosom  of  the 
river.  We  watched  for  crocodiles  sunning  themselves  on 
the  sand-spits,  and  once  or  twice  thought  we  saw  them 
some  two  hundred  vards  awav,  but  thev  had  alwavs  dis- 
appeared  as  we  drew  nearer.  Die  ])east  is  quick  to  take 
alarm  at  the  slightest  noise,  and  not  only  the  }»a<ldles  of 
a  steamer,  but  even  the  plash  of  oars,  will  di-ive  him  into 


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276 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


the  water.  For  his  coyness  we  were  partly  consoled  by 
the  gambols  of  the  river-horses.  All  round  the  boat  these 
creatures  were  popping  up  their  huge  snouts  and  shoul- 
ders, splashing  about,  and  then  plunging  again  into  the 
swirling  water.  Fortunately  none  rose  quite  close  to  us, 
for  the  hippopotamus,  even  if  he  means  no  mischief,  may 
easily  upset  a  boat  when  he  comes  up  under  it,  and  may  be 
induced  by  curiosity  to  submerge  it  with  one  bite  of  his 
strong  jaws,  in  which  case  the  passengers  are  likely  to 
have  fuller  opportunities  than  they  desire  of  becoming 
acquainted  with  the  crocodiles. 

Among  such  sights  the  sultry  afternoon  wore  itself 
slowly  into  night,  and  just  as  dark  fell— it  falls  suddenly 
like  a  curtain  in  these  latitudes— we  joyfully  descried  the 
steam-launch  waiting  for  us  behind  a  sandy  point.  Once 
embarked  on  her,  we  made  better  speed  through  the  night. 
It  was  cloudy,  with  a  struggling  moon,  which  just  showed 
us  a  labyrinth  of  flat,  densely  wooded  isles,  their  margins 
fringed  with  mangrove-trees.  Exhausted  by  a  journey  of 
more  than  thirty  hours  without  sleep,  we  were  now  so 
drowsy  as  to  be  in  constant  danger  of  falling  off  the  tiny 
launch,  which  had  neither  seats  nor  bulwarks,  and  even 
the  captain's  strong  tea  failed  to  rouse  us.  Everything 
seemed  like  a  dream— this  lonely  African  river,  with  the 
faint  moonlight  g'^mmering  here  and  there  upon  its  dark 
])osom,  while  the  tree-tops  upon  untrodden  islets  flitted 
})ast  in  a  slow,  funereal  procession,  befitting  a  land  of 
silence  and  death. 

At  last,  when  it  was  now  well  past  midnight  a  few 
lights  were  seen  in  the  distance,  and  presently  we  were  at 
]3eira.  As  we  touched  the  shore  we  were  told  that  ti  e 
(xerman  steamer  had  already  arrived,  two  days  before  her 
time,  and  was  to  start  in  the  morning  at  ten  o'clock.     So 


'A 


FROM   FORT   SALISBURY   TO  THE   SEA  L'77 

we  made  straight  for  her,  and  next  day  at  noon  sailed  for 
Delagoa  Bay. 

Beira  stands  on  a  sand-spit  between  the  ocean  and  the 
estuary  of  the  Pungwe  Kiver.  Tliongh  the  s\vaiiq)s  come 
close  up  to  it,  the  town  itself  is  tolerably  healthy  at  }dl 
seasons,  because  the  strong  easterly  breeze  blows  from 
the  sea  tliree  days  out  of  four.  Six  years  ago  there  was 
hardly  even  a  house,  and  its  quick  growt}i  is  entirely  due 
to  its  having  been  discovered  to  i)()ssess  the  best  harbor 
on  the  coast,  and  to  be  therefore  the  fittest  point  of  depar- 
ture from  the  sea  for  the  territories  of  the  British  South 
Africa  Company. 

In  old  days  the  chief  Portuguese  settlement  on  this  part 
of  the  coast  was  at  Sofala,  a  few  miles  farther  to  the  south, 
which  had  been  visited  by  Vasco  da  Gama  in  a.  d.  1502, 
and  where  the  Portuguese  built  a  fort  in  1505.  It  was 
then  an  Arab  town,  and  famous  as  the  place  whence  most 
of  the  gold  brought  down  from  the  interior  was  ex- 
ported. Now  it  has  shrunk  to  insignificjinee,  and  Beira 
will  probably  become  the  most  important  haven  on  the 
coast  between  Delagoa  Bay,  to  the  soutli,  and  Dar-es-Sa- 
iaam,  the  headquarters  of  German  administration,  to  the 
north. ^  The  anchorage  in  the  estuary  behind  the  sand-spit 
is  spacious  and  sheltered,  and  the  outrusli  of  the  tide  from 
the  large  estuary  keeps  down,  by  its  constant  scour,  ac- 
cumulations of  sand  upon  the  bar.  The  rise  of  tide  at  this 
part  of  the  coast,  from  which  Madagascar  is  only  four 
hundred  miles  distant,  is  twenty-tAvo  feet,  and  the  channel 
of  approach,  thougli  narrow  and  winding  (tor  the  coast  is 
shallow  and  there  are  shoals  for  six  or  eight  miles  out),  is 
tolerably  well  buoyed  and  not  really  difficult.  The  rail- 
way terminus  is  being  erected  at  a  point  within  the  harbor 

1  It  may,  liowever,  liave  a  rival  in  I'emba  Bay,  north  of  the  Zambesi. 

18* 


t; 


I 


i 


1    j  [] 

'I 
t   R 

'J 


If     f 


;i 


278 


DIPKESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


i',(r 


Avlioi'o  the  sand-spit  joins  tlie  nuiinliind,  .'ind  hnv  n  ([nay 
is  also  bein^  hnilt  for  the  discliarj^-e  of  j^'oods  direct  to  the 
trucks. 

Tlie  journey  wliich  I  liave  desci'ihod,  witli  all  its  diffi- 
culties, first  on  the  river  between  l^eira  and  Fontesvilla, 
and  then  ajj^ain  on  the  track  between  Chinioyo  and  Mtali, 
will  soon  be  a  thinj;  of  th(;  i)ast.  Early  in  1S9()  the  railway 
was  opened  fi'oni  Fontesvilla  to  Beira,  so  that  the  tedious 
and  vexatioush'  uncertain  voya<^e  u})  or  down  the  Puuj^we 
Kiver  ifi  now  sui)erseded  by  a  more  swift  if  less  exciting 
form  of  travel.  At  the  other  end  of  the  railroad  the  per- 
nument  way  is  being  rapidly  laid  from  Chimoyo  to  Mtali, 
so  that  trains  will  probably  be  running  all  the  way  froui 
the  sea  to  Mtali  earlv  in  1S!)8,  and  to  Fort  Salisburv  be- 
fore  the  end  of  the  eentur}'.  It  Avill  then  be  i)()ssible 
to  go  from  Beira  to  Mtali  in  fourteen  or  sixteen  hours, 
to  Fort  Salisbury  in  twenty  or  twenty-four.  Should  the 
resources  of  Mashonnland  turn  out  within  the  next  few 
years  to  be  what  its  more  sanguine  inhabitants  assert,  its 
progress  will  Ixi  enonnously  accelerated  by  this  line,  which 
will  giv(;  a,  far  sliorter  ac(?ess  to  South  Central  Africa  than 
can  be  h;id  by  the  rival  lines  that  start  fi-om  Cape  Town, 
from  Durban,  and  from  Delagoa  Bay. 


I'ii. 


I!   H 


1^i\ 


CHAPTER  XVII 

OBSERVATIONS  ON   THE   RESOUKCES  AND  FUTURE 
OF  MATABILILAND  AND  MASHONALAND 

IN  tho  last  chapter  I  have  brouglit  the  reader  back  to  the 
sea  from  those  inland  regions  we  have  spent  three 
chapters  in  traversing.  Now,  while  the  German  steamer 
is  threading  her  way  to  the  open  ocean  throngli  the  shoals 
that  surronnd  the  entrance  to  the  harbor  of  Beira,  the 
traveler  as  he  gazes  on  the  receding  shore  tries  to  snm 
up  his  impressions  regarding  the  economic  prospects  as 
well  of  Maslionaland  as  of  the  other  territories  of  the 
British  South  Africa  Company.  I  will  shortly  state  these 
impressions. 

The  regions  over  which  the  British  flag  flies  between  the 
Transvaal  Republic  to  the  south  and  the  territories  of  Ger- 
many and  of  the  Congo  State  to  the  north  fall,  like  Caesar's 
Gaul,  in  to  three  parts.  The  first  is  the  country  north  of  the 
Zambesi.  The  eastern  section  of  this  northerly  region  is 
Nyassaland,  of  which  I  need  say  nothing,  because  it  has  very 
recently  been  described  by  the  distinguished  officer  (Sir 
H.  H.  Johnston)  who  administered  it  f'>r  some  vears.  The 
western  section,  wliich  is  under  the  control  of  the  C'ompany, 
is  still  too  little  known  for  an  estimate  of  its  value  to  be 

279 


I'l 


If, 


1. 


I 


1^1 


"■'■I 


P 


I 


! 


i 


] 


E^' 


h,, 


.^ 


if 


280 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFliICA 


formed.  Though  some  parts  of  it  are  more  than  4000  feet 
above  sea-level,  most  of  it  lies  below  that  line,  which  is, 
roughly  speaking,  tlie  line  at  which  malarial  fevers  cease  to 
be  formidable.  Most  of  it,  therefore,  is  not  likely  to  be  fit 
for  European  colonization,  and  the  heat  is  of  course  such 
as  to  put  European  labor  out  of  the  question.  Consider- 
able tracts  are,  however,  believed  to  be  fertile,  and  other 
tracts  good  for  pasture,  while  there  is  some  evidence  of 
the  existence  of  gold  and  other  minerals.  The  least  valu- 
able region  is  believed  to  be  that  north  of  the  Middle 
Zambesi,  where  there  are  some  dry  and  almost  barren 
districts.  Taking  it  all  in  all,  it  is  a  country  worth  hav- 
ing; but  its  resources  will  have  to  be  turned  to  account 
entirely  through  black  labor,  and  as  it  is  not  likely  to  at- 
tract any  Europeans,  except  gold-prospectors,  until  the 
unoccupied  lands  south  of  the  Zambesi  have  been  fully 
taken  up,  its  development  belongs  to  a  comparatively  dis- 
tant future. 

The  second  region— that  which  lies  south  of  th-^  Up- 
per Zambesi,  northwest  of  Matabililand— is  equally  little 
known,  and,  so  far  as  known,  is  less  attractive.  Most  of 
it  is  comparatively  low;  much  of  it  is  arid;  some  parts, 
especially  those  round  Lake  Ngami,  are  marshy  and  there- 
fore malarious.  It  is  thinly  peopled,  has  not  been  ascer- 
tained to  possess  any  mineral  wealth,  and  lies  far  from  any 
possible  market.  Parts  of  it  may  turn  out  to  afford  good 
pasture,  but  for  the  present  little  is  said  or  thought  about 
it,  and  no  efforts  have  been  made  to  develop  it. 

The  third  region  comprises  Matabililand  and  Mashona- 
land,  that  is,  the  country  between  the  Transvaal  Republic 
and  the  valley  of  the  Middle  Zambesi,  all  of  which  is  now 
administered  by  the  Company.  What  there  is  to  say  about 
its  prospects  maybe  summed  up  under  three  heads— health, 


if/  < 


FUTURE  OF  MATAHIIilLANl)  AND  MASIIONALAND    281 

wealtli,  and  peace.  It  is  on  these  three  things  that  its 
future  welfare  depends. 

Health.— A  large  part  of  the  country,  estinuited  at  nearly 
100,000  square  miles,  belongs  to  the  upper  South  African 
Plateau,  and  has  an  elevation  of  at  least  J3000  feet  above 
the  sea ;  and  of  this  area  about  2C,000  square  miles  have 
an  elevation  of  4000  feet  or  upward.  This  height,  coupled 
with  fresh  easterly  breezes  and  dry  weather  during  eight 
months  in  the  year,  gives  the  country  a  salubrious  and 
even  bracing  climate.  The  sun's  heat  is  tempered,  even  in 
summer,  by  cool  nights,  and  in  winter  by  cold  winds,  so  that 
European  constitutions  do  not,  as  in  India,  become  ener- 
vated and  European  muscles  flaccid.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
send  children  home  to  England  when  they  reach  five  or  six 
years  of  age ;  for  they  grow  up  as  healthy  as  they  wi,  ild 
at  home.  Englishmen  might,  in  many  districts,  work  with 
their  hands  in  the  open  air,  were  they  so  disposed ;  it  is 
pride  and  custom,  rather  than  the  climate,  that  forbid 
them  to  do  so.  So  far,  therefore,  the  country  is  one  in 
which  an  indigenous  white  population  might  renew  itself 
from  generation  to  generation. 

Wealth.— It  was  the  hope  of  finding  gold  that  drew  the 
first  British  pioneers  to  these  regions;  it  is  that  hope 
which  keeps  settlers  there,  and  has  induced  the  ruling 
Company  to  spend  very  large  sums  in  constructing  rail- 
ways, as  well  as  in  surveying,  policing,  and  otherwise  pro- 
viding for  the  administration  of  the  country.  The  great 
question,  therefore,  is.  How  will  the  gold-reefs  turn  out  ? 
There  had  been  formed  before  the  end  of  1895  more 
than  two  hundred  development  companies,  most  of  them 
gold-mining  undertakings,  and  others  were  being  started 
up  till  the  eve  of  the  native  outbreak  in  March,  1896. 
Very  many  reefs  had  been  prospected  and  an  immense 


I 


u 


f?:J 


m 


.9' 


I 


li  , 


m  i 


'» .  • , 


uu 


■^1 


1  ri: 


282 


IMI'hKSSTOXS  or   SOI'TH   AI'l^rA 


niimlHT  «>f  cliiims  I'c^nstcird.  Tlio  plnoos  in  wliicli  actnnl 
work  liad  been  doiiH  in  the  \\;iy  of  sinl\iii<jf  sliaFts  and 
openiiij^  adits  were,  of  conrsc,  nmoli  fewer,  yet  pretty  nu- 
merous. Most  of  tlu'se  wei'e  in  Mauiealaiid,  near  Mtali, 
or  to  the  north  and  west  of  l-'ort  Salisbury,  or  to  the 
southeast  of  Gwelo,  in  tlie  Sehd<we  distriet.  No  one  of 
tliese  \vorkin«,'s  was  on  a  larj^^'o  sealo^  and  at  two  or  tlir?e 
oidy  had  stanii)in,u:  niaelnnery  been  set  up,  owinj^,  so  I  was 
told,  to  the  practically  pi'ohibitive  cost  of  transport  from 
tiie  sea.  Accordin^dy,  there  are  very  few,  if  any,  workings 
where  enoujj^li  ore  has  been  extracted  and  treated  to  war- 
rant any  confident  predictions  as  to  the  productivity  of 
the  claim.  Numerous  as  tla^  claims  are,  the  value  of  all, 
or  nearly  all,  is  still  practicnlly  uncertain. 

It  must  be  rememlxTinl  that  in  these  mininji:  districts 
the  ^old  occurs  in  quartz-reefs.  Comparatively  little  is 
found  in  alluvial  deposits,  which  in  California  and  Aus- 
tralia and  the  Ural  ^lountains  have  l)ecn  scarcely  less  im- 
portant than  the  (puii'tz-reefs.  N(  )ne  at  all  is  found  diffused 
equally  through  a  stratum  of  rock,  as  in  the  Transvaal. 
Now,  quartz-rtH'f  miniujnf  is  ])roverl)ial]y  uncertain.  The 
reefs  vary  not  oidy  in  thickness,  but  also  in  depth,  and  it 
is  not  vet  certain  that  anv  irc^  verv  far  beneath  the  surface. 
So,  too,  even  when  the  reef  itself  is  persistent  in  width  and 
in  depth,  its  auriferous  qurdity  varies  greatly.  What  is 
called  the  "shoot"  of  gold  may  be  rich  for  some  yards, 
and  then  become  faint  or  wholly  disappear,  perhaps  to 
reappear  some  yards  farther.  Thus  there  must  be  a  good 
deal  of  quartz  crushed  at  different  i)oints  before  it  can  be 
determi)ied  what  number  of  pennvAveights  or  ounces  to 
the  ton  a  given  reef,  or  a  given  part  of  a  reef,  is  likely  to 
yield. 

In  this  uncertainty  and  deficiency  of  practical  tests. 


m 


FUTl'liK  OF  MATAIULILAND  AND  MASIIONALAM)     L'Sa 


I 


people  liavc  fallen  back  upon  the  ancient  workin^^s  as 
evidence  of  the  !il)nn(lance  of  the  precious  metal.  I  have 
already  mentioned  how  numerous  these  workiniis  are  over 
the  country,  and  how  fully  they  api)ear  to  eonMrm  the 
stories  as  to  the  gold  which  was  l)rou^dit  dowti  in  the 
sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  to  Sofala  .-md  the  other 
Portujifuese  ports.  It  is  argued  that  if  gold  was  so  exten- 
sively worked  in  time  past  l»y  rude  races  possessing  only 
primitive  methods  and  few  tools,  tlu'  reefs  must  have  been 
rich,  and  that  it  is  extremely  improbable'  that  all,  or  nearly 
all,  the  gold  should  have  be<'n  Mlready  extracted.  The  (;ld 
workings  were  open,  excavated  down  from  the  sui'face,  and 
they  usually  stojtjx'd  when  water  was  reached.  Is  there 
not  eveiy  reason  to  think  that  in  many  i)laces  the  reefs  go 
deeper,  nnd  that  our  improved  scientific  appliiinces  will 
enable  us  to  extract  far  more  of  the  metal  than  the  old 
miners  could  get  l)y  their  simple  breaking  and  washing  of 
the  (piartz?  No  dcmbt  the  old  workings  were  carried  on 
by  labor  incomparably  cheajx'r  than  could  now  be  ob- 
tained ;  but  against  this  may  be  set  the  greater  efliciency 
of  the  ;r>achinery  which  will  be  at  the  disposal  of  the 
miner  when  transportation  facilities  have  been  pi'ovidcd. 
Arguments  of  this  kind  are  r(\sorted  to  only  because  the 
data  which  experiment  has  hitherto  supi)lied  are  insulli- 
cient.  There  is  nuich  difiference  of  opinion  in  the  country 
itself  regarding  the  value  of  the  reefs.  Some  mining  en- 
gineers whom  I  questioned  took  a  less  sanguijie  view  of 
the  reefs  they  had  examined  than  did  the  general  jiublic 
in  Fort  Salisbury  or  Bulawayo,  and  (it  need  hardly  be 
said)  a  much  less  sanguine  view  tli.an  the  prospectuses  of 
the  companies  conveyed  to  investors  at  home.  On  the 
other  hand,  results  had  been  actually  obtained  in  some 
other  places  which  promised  extremely  well  if  the  rest  of 


284 


IMPRKHSIONH  OF   SOUTFI    AFRICA 


I, 


11 


tho  reef  proved  equal  to  tlie  portion  sampled.  Men  of 
what  is  called  in  Anieriea  *'  a  conservative  temper"  seemed 
to  me  to  think  that  there  is -'payable  p)ld,"  pn)bal)ly 
plenty  of  f^old,  in  the  country,  and  that  out  of  the  nuiny 
companies  formed  to  work  the  claims  a  fair,  but  by  no 
means  a  lar<j:e,  proportion  will  turn  out  sound  undertak- 
ings. I  doubt  if  it  will  b(?  possible  to  say  anythin}^  more 
positives  until  stampinjjf  batteries  have  been  erected  and  a 
considerabh^  ({uantity  of  ({uartz  has  been  treated.  This 
process  can  hardly  bej^in  till  the  railways  to  Hulawayo 
and  Mtali  have  been  o})ened,  and  those  interested  may 
therefore  have  to  wait  till  ISO!)  or  !!)()()  before  they  can 
feel  sure  as  to  the  value  of  their  properties. 

Other  minerals  besides  {j^old  have  been  found.  There  is 
iron  in  many  places,  (iopper  in  others.  Coal  has  l)een 
proved  to  exist,  of  j?ood  if  not  first-rate  (luality,  in  the 
Zambesi  Valley  north  of  Gwelo  and  Fort  Salisbury,  and  if 
the  gold-reefs  turn  out  well  it  may  be  found  worth  while 
to  work  it. 

Regarding  tho  pastoral  and  agricultural  capabilities  of 
the  country  there  need  be  little  doubt.  All  of  it,  except 
those  lower  grounds  to  the  north  which  are  infested  by  the 
tsetse-fly,  is  fit  for  cattle ;  some  parts,  such  as  the  Matoppo 
Hills  in  Matabililand,  and  still  more  the  Inyanga  Plateau 
in  Mashonaland  (mentioned  in  the  last  preceding  chapter), 
offer  excellent  pasture.  The  "  high  veldt "  of  central  Mata- 
bililaud  is  no  less  available  for  sheep.  Great  part  of  the 
cattle  that  were  on  the  land  have  perished  in  the  recent 
murrain.  But  this  plague  will  pass  l)y  and  may  not  re- 
turn for  many  years,  perhaps  for  centuries,  and  the  ani- 
mals that  will  be  brought  in  to  restock  the  country  will 
probably  be  of  better  breeds.  The  quality  of  the  soil  for 
the  purposes  of  tillage  has  been  tested  by  Europeans  in 


.!/■ 


'    {!■ 


Fl'Tl'IiK  OF  MATAMHilhANI)  AND  M  VHlIONAIiAND     '2iio 

ji  h\w  itliu'cs  only.  Much  of  it  is  dry;  inueh  of  it,  eape- 
(MuUy  whrrc  tln'siilijiuM'iit  rock  is  <,'rmiiti<',  is  thin  or  sandy. 
Still,  Jiftrr  allowing;  tor  thrsc  poorer  tracts,  there  remains 
an  immense  area  of  land  which  is  fit  to  raise  ct'reuls  and 
some  sul)tro[)ical  crops  such  as  cotton.  The  innnediate 
(piestion  is  no<,  therefore,  as  to  the  pnxluctive  capacities  of 
th<'  country,  but  as  to  the  existence  of  a  market  for  the 
products  themselves.  Nearly  all  staple  food-stutfs  have  of 
Lite  years  heconie  so  (;heai)  in  the  markets  of  Europe  and 
North  America,  ovvinj^  to  the  hrinj^nn^'  under  cidtivation 
of  so  much  new  hmd  and  the  marvelous  reduction  in  tho 
<!ost  of  ocean  earriajjje,  tluit  in  most  of  such  articles  ^la- 
shonaland,  even  with  a  railwaj'  to  the  sea,  could  not  at 
l)resent  compete  successfully  in  those  markets  with  India 
and  South  America  and  the  western  United  States.  It  is 
therefore  to  consumers  nearer  at  hand  that  the  (country 
must  look.  If  {jfold-miniuf^  prospers,  poj)ulation  will  raj)- 
idly  increase,  and  a  market  will  ])e  created  at  the  '.:gri- 
cultnrists'  own  door.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  reefs 
disai)point  the  hopes  formed  of  them,  and  the  influx  of 
settlers  is  too  small  to  create  any  larj^e  denumd,  tillaj^e 
will  spread  hut  little,  and  the  country  will  be  left  to  be 
slowly  occupied  by  ranchmen.  Thns  the  j^rowth  of  popu- 
lation and  tht^  prosperity  of  every  industry  will  U'pend 
upon  the  extent  to  which  gold-mining  can  b(!  profitably 
developed.  Of  course  I  speak  only  of  the  near  future. 
However  rich  some  of  the  reefs  may  turn  out,  they  will  be 
exhausted  within  a  few  decades,  and  the  country  will  have 
to  depend  on  its  other  resources.  However  unrenumera- 
tive  the  reefs  may  prove,  those  other  resources  will  in  the 
long  run  assure  to  it  a  settled  white  population  and  a 
reasonable  measure  of  prosperity.  But  these  are  days  in 
which  we  all  have  learned  to  take  short  views  of  life  for 


^'i 


i 


'11 


V 


Ill  I 


r 


It 


1 


ii ;!; 


•17 


& 

■  J 

y 

■  1; 

1 

r  "ll 

(■  1 

1 

i 

»L.! 

11^ 


i 


286 


LMl'JiESSIONS   OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


uatioiis  {111(1  (M)uiiti'ies  as  woil  as  for  our  individual  selves, 
and  nii(|uestional)ly  tlie  more  or  less  of  gold  in  its  (quartz 
will  for  tliis  eountry  make  all  the  difference  between  its 
speedy  and  its  slow  development. 

rcacc. —Thirdly,  there  remains  the  question  whether 
the  natives  can  be  kei)t  quiet.  The  first  occupation  of 
JMashoiialinul  wjis  so  traiKpiil,  the  first  coiupiest  of  the  Mat- 
abili  so  swi^'t  and  easy,  that  everybody  can  now  see  that 
some  furtlier  trouble  oug'ht  to  have  been  expected  before 
British  control  could  be  deemed  secure.  Now  there  has 
been  a  second  struu'jj^k'  and  a  pacification  if  not  a  victory. 
Has  the  suppression  of  the  revolt  y'iveii  permanent  secu- 
rity f  Are  the  natives  at  last  aware  that  the  superiority 
of  intellit^ence  and  or<>'anizati»)ii  on  the  part  of  the  whites 
more  than  counterbalances  their  own  immense  preponder- 
ance in  numl)ers,  a  preponderance  of  fully  one  hundred  to 
one  ?  No  one  will  si)eak  confidently  on  this  point  who 
remembers  how  implicit  and  how  vain  was  the  confidence 
felt  in  1895  tliat  the  natives  were  contented  and  submis- 
sive. Nevertheless,  there  is  reason  to  think  that  if  the 
natives  arti  ruled  in  a  prudent  and  friendly  spirit,  mak- 
in<4'  due  allowance  for  their  of  ten  unreasonable  alarms  and 
suspicions,  no  fresh  rising  need  be  feared.  The  chief  ann 
of  the  ruling  officials  should  be  to  draw  and  not  to  drive 
them  to  labor,  and  to  keep  in  cliec^k  those  white  adventur- 
ers who  hang  about  the  frontiers  of  civilization  and  some- 
times ill-use  or  defraud  the  Kafir  in  a  wav  which  makes 
him  hostile  to  the  next  whites,  however  well  intentioned, 
who  come  into  his  neighborhood.  It  may  be  some  years 
yet  before  the  natives  will  seek  work  at  the  mines  to  the 
extent  desired,  for  they  dislike  underground  labor.  But 
policy,  as  well  as  humanity  and  justice,  forbids  any  resort 
to  compulsion.     Though  it  is  (juite  true  that  the  native 


FUTURE  OF  ^lATABTLTLAND  AND  MASHOXALAXD     '2S7 

hates  to  soo  tlio  nliito  mvu  come  in,  disturb  his  old  wav 
of  lifo,  and  take  the  ])est  liiud,  still  I  doubt  if  anytliing 
less  than  some  positive  uTievanee,  such  as  forced  labor  or 
the  takiuf;^  of  cattle,  will  be  likely  to  rouse  him  to  another 
attack  on  the  striini»-ers.  Should  such  an  attnck  occur,  it 
would  be  less  formidable  tlum  that  of  1890.  The  tribal 
system,  already  weakened,  tends  anu)n<if  the  ]\ratabili  to 
dissolve  still  further,  as  was  seen  by  the  absence  of  notable 
leaders  and  the  general  want  of  plan  and  co«)i)eriition  in 
the  late  conflict.  Anu)ng-  the  ^MashouMs  each  village  is 
independent,  so  that  a  coml)ined  effort  is  still  less  to  be 
feared.'  Moreover,  the  completion  of  the  two  railways  to 
Bulawavo  on  the  western  and  Fort  Salisburv  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  country  will  enable  reinforcements  to  be  rapidly 
sent  up  from  the  coast,  and  remove  the  only  danger  that 
really  threatened  the  whites  in  189(5 — their  isolation  from 
help  and  from  su})|)lies  of  ammunition  and  of  food. 

What,  then,  are  the  geni^-al  conclusions  to  which  this 
rapid  survey  leads?     I  will  summariz(>  them. 

1.  Tlumgh  pai'ts  of  the  country  will  remain  nuilarious, 
great  areas  will  be  sufliciently  healthy  to  enahle  a  large 
white  popuhition  to  grow  u])  and  maintain  itself  on  the 
soil  in  vii»'or  of  mind  and  bodv.  In  this  sense  it  will  be  a 
"white  man's  country." 

2.  The  black  population  is,  however,  likely  to  remain  by 
far  the  more  nunu'rous  element,  partly  because  it  is  l)etter 
fitted  for  the  malarious  and  the  hottest  regions,  and  partly 
because  here,  as  elsawhere  in  South  Africa,  it  is  by  the 
blacks  that  nearly  all  nuinual  labor  will  continue  to  be 

^  This  very  isolation  and  iiKlciiciuIi'iicc  of  the  small  iiafivo  coiii- 
munitios  in  Maslioiialaiid  lias  rctiiv(l<Ml  the  itacilicalion  of  the  count I'V 


durini,'  189G-97. 
to  treat. 


Tlieru  art.'  liardix  anv  iiilluciifial  (diiefs  witli  whom 


VI 


!  'I 


■| 


5l'    I 


t  <! 


1 


H 


_-.  >  ^k 


I 


H 


288 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


(lone.  In  this  sense,  tliat  of  numerical  preponderance,  the 
country,  and  of  course  especially  the  parts  of  it  which  lie 
near  to  and  north  of  the  Zambesi,  will  be  a  "  black  man's 
country." 

3.  The  material  progress  of  the  country,  nnd  the  more 
or  less  rapid  increase  of  its  white  population,  will  depend, 
in  the  first  instance,  on  the  greater  or  less  success  with 
whi(;h  gold-mining  is  prosecuted.  If  the  reefs  turn  out 
well,  growth  will  be  rapid ;  if  not,  it  will  be  slow.  But  in 
the  long  run  the  soil  and  the  climate  will  be  the  main 
factors  in  material  and  social  prosperity.  These  give  abun- 
dant grounds  for  hope.  The  rainfall  is  larger  than  in  the 
interior  of  Cape  Colony,  and  much  of  the  soil  will  there- 
fore be  more  productive ;  for  other  industries  will  spring 
up,  and  some  of  them  wiU  remain  even  when  mining  has 
declined. 

4.  The  political  future  will  depend  upon  the  growth  of 
population,  as  that  depends  upon  the  development  of 
material  resources.  Should  there  be  a  large  and  steady 
influx  of  white  settlers,  there  must  before  long  come  a  de- 
mand for  self-governing  institutions.  To  concede  these 
institutions  will  be  in  the  well-established  line  of  British 
colonial  policy,  and  the  question  will  then  arise  whether 
the  country,  or  the  more  settled  parts  of  it,  should  form  a 
separate  colony  or  be  incorporated  with  Cape  Colony  (as 
British  Bechuanaland  recently  was).  That  one  found  in 
1895  very  little  disposition  among  the  white  settlers  to 
grumble  at  the  administration  seemed  chiefly  due  to  the 
gi'cat  personal  popularity  of  the  genial  Administrator,  Dr. 
L.  S.  Jameson.  A  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons 
was  recently  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  use  the  Company 
had  made  of  its  powers,  but  it  has  not  yet  (July,  1897) 
reported  upon  that  subject. 


f '  I 


FUTURE  OF  MATABILILAND  AND  MASHOX ALAND  L'SU 

5.  Whether  the  present  form  of  government  by  the 
British  South  Africa  Company,  with  the  coiiperation  of  a 
council  partly  nominated  by  the  High  Commissioner  for 
ISoutli  Africa,  and  uiider  the  general  oversight  of  that 
officer,  should  for  the  present  continue,  or  whethei-,  as 
some  have  urged,  these  vast  territories  should  come  under 
the  direct  control  of  the  Imperial  Government  as  a  Crown 
Colony,  is  a  question  that  need  not  be  discussed  here.  It 
must,  however,  be  ere  long  considered  by  the  British 
Government  and  Legislature;  and  it  will  give  them  some 
trouble,  for  it  is  involved  with  personal  (piestions  on  one 
side,  and  with  financial  questions  on  the  other. 

6.  Leaving  out  of  sight  the  still  unsettled  problem  of  the 
mineral  wealth  of  these  territories,  thev  are  in  other  re- 
spects  one  of  the  most  promising  parts  of  South  Africa. 
I  have  remarked  that  as  regards  ])asture  and  agriculture 
they  are  superior  to  the  inland  i)arts  of  Cape  Colony.  They 
are  in  these  points  also  superior  to  the  Transvaal,  and  still 
more  plainly  superior  to  the  neighboring  possessions  of 
Germany  and  Portugal.  Portuguese  East  Africa  is  fever- 
stricken.  Gernian  East  Africa  is  in  many  places  ))arren 
and  almost  everywhere  malarious.  Its  Administrator  re- 
(;ently  observed  that  there  was  not  a  square  mile  of  it  free 
from  fever,  German  Southwest  Africa  is  mostly  desert, 
an  arid  and  irreclaimable  desert. 

To  the  English  race  in  South  Africa  the  acquisition  of 
these  regions,  or  at  least  of  the  parts  south  of  the  Zambesi, 
has  been  an  immense  political  and  economic  advantage. 
It  has  established  their  predominance  and  provided  a  se- 
curity against  any  serious  attempt  to  dislodge  them.  And 
a  philosophic  observer  without  predilections  for  any  one 
state  or  people  would,  it  is  conceived,  hold  that  the  English 
race  is  more  likely  to  serve  what  are  termed  the  interests  of 

19 


Hi 


i  < 


'.:i:i 


'I  <ii 


"J  1 


5-;1 


ll: 


M 


i:!i 


w 


-VA-I 


290 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


civilization  in  this  part  of  Africa  than  is  any  other  race. 
The  Portuguese  have  neither  energy  nor  capital.  The  Ger- 
mans, with  energy  and  with  capital,  have  not  the  requisite 
practice  in  independent  colonization,  nor  perhaps  the  taste 
for  it.  The  South  African  Dutch  Boers,  who  have  within 
the  last  fifteen  years  been  more  than  once  on  the  point  of 
occupying  the  country,  are,  with  all  their  good  qualities,  a 
backward  people,  who,  had  they  prevailed,  would  liave  done 
little  more  than  squat  here  and  there  over  the  country  with 
their  cattle,  and  carry  on  an  incessant  desultory  war  with 
the  natives.  Whether  it  is  really  desirable  that  the  waste 
lands  of  the  world  should  be  quickly  brought  under  settled 
order  and  have  their  resources  developed  with  all  possible 
speed,  is  a  question  on  which  much  might  be  said.  But 
assuming,  as  most  people  (perhaps  too  hastily)  do  assume, 
that  this  sudden  development  is  desirable,  the  strong  and 
strenuous  man  who,  with  little  encouragement  from  the 
government  of  his  country,  founded  the  British  South 
Africa  Company  and  acquired  these  territories  for  his 
countrymen  took  one  of  the  most  fateful  steps  that  states- 
man or  conqueror  has  ever  taken  in  the  African  continent. 


hiii 


H 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THROUGH  NATAL  TO  THE  TRANSVAAL 

THERE  are  two  ways  of  reaching  the  Witwatersranci 
gold-fiekls,  now  the  central  point  of  attraction  in 
South  Africa,  from  tlie  southeast  coast.  One  route 
starts  from  Delagoa  Bay,  a  place  of  so  much  importance 
as  to  deserve  a  short  description.  It  is  a  piece  of  water 
protected  from  the  ocean  by  Inyack  Island,  and  stretch- 
ing some  twenty  miles  or  more  north  and  south.  At  the 
north  end,  where  two  rivers  discharge  their  waters  into 
it,  is  an, almost  landlocked  inlet,  on  the  east  side  of  which 
stands  the  town  of  Louren^o  Marques,  so  called  from  M.e 
Portuguese  captain  who  first  explored  it  in  1544,  though 
it  had  been  visited  in  1502  by  Vasco  da  Gama.  The  a{)- 
proach  to  this  harbor  is  long  and  circuitous,  for  a  vessel 
has  to  wind  hither  and  thither  to  avoid  shoals ;  and  as 
the  channel  is  ill  buoyed,  careful  captains  sometimes  wait 
for  the  tide  to  be  at  least  half  full  before  they  cross  the 
shallowest  part,  where  there  may  be  only  twenty  feet  of 
water  at  low  tide.  Within  the  harbor  there  is  plenty 
of  good  deep  anchorage  opposite  the  town,  and  a  still 
more  sheltered  spot  is  found  a  little  farther  up  the  inlet 
in  a  sort  of  lagoon.  The  town,  which  is  growing  fast, 
but  still  in  a  rough  and  unsightly  condition,  runs  for  half 

291 


Ih 


I, 


hi 


1 
I J  'I 


i!'*ii 


1      ':• 


.U 


'i"> 


■I 

■  h  i 

\ 


292 


IMPUESSIOXS  OF   SOUTH  AFKICA 


,,    ii„ 


a  mile  alonj^  the  bay  front,  and  behind  rises  up  the  slope 
of  a  hill  facing  to  the  west.  The  site  looks  healthy 
enough,  though  it  would  have  been  better  to  plant  the 
houses  nearer  to  the  point  which  shields  the  an(;horage. 
But  behind  the  town  to  the  east  and  north  tliore  are  large 
swamps,  reeking  with  malaria;  and  the  residents  have, 
therefore,  though  of  course  much  less  in  the  dry  season, 
to  be  on  their  guard  against  fever,  which,  indeed,  few  who 
renuiin  for  a  twelvemonth  escape.  The  Portuguese  gov- 
ernment is  unfortunately  hard  pressed  for  money,  and 
has  not  been  able  to  complete  the  projected  quays,  nor 
even  to  provide  a  custom-house  and  warehouses  fit  to  re- 
ceive and  store  the  goods  intended  for  the  Transvaal, 
which  are  now  discharged  here  in  large  quantities.  In 
November,  1895,  everything  was  in  confusion,  and  the 
merchants  loud  in  their  complaints.  Business  is  mostly 
in  English  and  German,  scarcely  at  all  in  Portuguese, 
hands.  With  better  management  and  the  expenditure  of 
a  little  money,  both  the  approach  to  the  harbor  and  the 
town  itself  might  be  immensely  improved ;  and  although 
the  country  round  is  not  attractive,  being  mostly  either 
sandy  or  marshy,  the  trade  with  the  Transvaal  gold-fields 
seems  so  certain  to  develop  and  maintain  itself  that  ex- 
penditure would  be  well  bestowed.  It  has  often  been 
suggested  that  Great  Britain  should  buy  the  place,  but 
the  sensitive  pride  of  Portugal  would  probably  refuse 
any  offer. 

The  other  port  which  now  competes  for  the  Transvaal 
trade  with  Delagoa  Bay  is  Durban,  the  largest  town  in 
the  British  colony  of  Natal.  It  stands  on  a  sandy  flat 
from  which  a  spit  of  land  runs  out  into  the  sea  between 
the  open  ocean  and  the  harbor.  The  harbor  is  com- 
modious, but  the  bar  on  the  channel  connecting  it  wih 


flu 


m : 


^¥ 


THROUGH  NATAL  TO  THE  TRANSVAAL 


293 


the  ocean  has  hitherto  made  it  unavailable  except  for 
vessels  of  lij^ht  draft.  Much  has  been  done  by  the  colotiy 
to  deepen  the  channel,  and  at  the  time  of  my  visit  a  new 
dredger  was  on  its  way,  from  the  exertions  of  wliieh 
gi'eat  things  were  hoped.  Heretofore  the  larg«'st  steamors 
have  had  to  lie  out  in  the  ocean  a  mile  or  two  away,  nnd 
as  there  is  usuallv  a  swell,  in  which  the  little  stenrn- 
tenders  pitch  about  pretty  freely,  the  process  of  dis- 
embarkation is  trying  to  many  passengers.  There  is, 
however,  good  reason  to  hope  that  the  l)ar  difficulties 
mav  ultimatelv  be  overcome,  as  thev  have  alreadv  l)een 
greatly  reduced :  and  the  harbor,  once  you  are  within  it, 
is  perfectly  sheltered. 

Dur])an  is  a  neat  and,  in  some  parts,  even  handsome 
town,  with  wide  and  well-kept  streets,  to  which  the  use  of 
slender  jinrikishas  (drawn  by  active  Zulus  or  Indians) 
instead  of  cabs,  as  well  as  the  number  of  white-clad 
coolies  in  the  streets,  gives  a  curious  Eastern  touch,  in 
keeping  with  the  semi-tropical  vegetation.  The  climate 
is  sultry  during  three  months,  but  very  agreeable  for  the 
rest  of  the  year.  Many  of  the  whites,  however, —  there  are 
14,000  of  them,  and  about  the  same  number  of  Kafirs  and 
immigrants  from  India, —  live  on  the  hill  of  Berea  to  the 
north  of  the  town,  where  the  sea  breeze  givf^  '  relief  even 
in  the  hottest  weather.  This  suburb  of  Berea  is  one  of 
the  prettiest  spots  in  South  Africa.  The  name,  of  which 
the  origin  seems  to  have  been  forgotten  by  the  citizens 
of  to-day,  comes  from  a  missionary  settlement  planted 
here  in  very  early  days,  and  called  after  the  Berea  men- 
tioned in  Acts  xvii.  10,  11.  It  has  been  skilfull}'  laid 
out  in  winding  roads,  bordered  by  tasteful  villas  which 
are  surrounded  by  a  wealth  of  trees  and  flowering  shrubs, 
and  command  admirable  views  of  the  harbor,  of  the  bold 

19* 


^1 

■ 


• 


294 


IMPRESSIONS  OB'  SOUTH  AFRICA 


} 


J, 

r 

I 


i 


))lnflf  which  rises  west  of  the  harbor,  and  of  the  ocean. 
The  municipality  bought  the  land,  and  by  selliuj^  or  leas- 
ing it  in  lots  at  increased  prices  has  secured  a  revenue 
whicli  has  kept  local  taxation  at  a  very  low  figure,  and  has 
enabled  many  town  improvements  to  be  made  and  many 
enterprises  to  be  worked  for  the  benefit  of  the  citizens. 
Durban  has  been  a  pioneer  of  what  is  called,  in  its  ex- 
tremer  forms,  municipal  socialism ;  and  it  enjoys  the  repu- 
tatior  »f  being  the  best  managed  and  most  progressive 
'  w  :  ai  all  South  Africa.  It  possesses  among  other 
tinr(.v.  flne  town-hall  with  a  lofty  tower,  built  by  the 
ex^.tion^.  J'  the  present  mayor,  a  deservedly  respected 
Scotch  merci.ant. 

East  of  Durban  a  low  and  fertile  strip  of  country 
stretches  along  the  coast,  most  of  which  is  occupied  })y 
sugar  plantations,  tilled  by  coolies  brought  from  India, 
because  the  native  Kafir  does  not  take  kindly  to  steady 
labor.  North  of  the  town  the  country  rises,  and  here 
the  patient  industry  of  other  Indians  has  formed  a  great 
mass  of  -'ardens,  where  subtropical  and  even  some  tropi- 
cal fruits  are  grown  in  great  quantities,  and  have  now 
begun  to  be  exported  to  Europe.  Across  this  high  ground, 
and  through  and  over  the  still  higher  hills  which  rise  far- 
ther inland,  the  railway  takes  its  course,  often  in  steep 
inclines,  to  the  town  of  Pieterraaritzburg,  eighty  miles 
distant,  where  the  Governor  dwells,  and  a  small  British 
garrison  is  placed.  Durban  was  from  the  first  an  English 
towii,  and  the  white  people  who  inhabit  it  are  practically 
all  English.  Maritzburg  was  founded  by  the  emigrant 
Boers  who  left  Cape  Colony  in  the  Great  Trek  of  1836, 
and  descended  hither  across  the  Quathlamba  Mountains 
in  1838.  Its  population  is,  however,  nowadays  much  more 
British  than  Boer,  but  the  streets  retain  an  old-fashioned 


TIIliOUOH   NATAI     TO   THE  TKANiSV.V^VL 


UOo 


half-Dutch  air;  and  the  handsome  Parliament  House  and 
Government  Offlees  look  somewhat  strange  in  a  quiet  and 
straggling  country  town.  Its  height  above  the  sea  (2000 
feet)  and  its  dry  climate  make  it  healthy,  though,  as  it  lies 
in  a  hollow  among  high  hills,  it  is  rather  hotter  in  sun' 
mer  than  suits  English  tastes.  The  surrounding  country 
is  pretty,  albeit  rather  bare ;  nor  is  the  Australian  wattle, 
of  which  there  are  now  large  plantations  in  the  neigli- 
borhood,  a  very  attractive  tree. 

This  seems  the  fittest  place  for  a  few  words  on  tlie 
public  life  of  Natal,  the  British  colony  which  has  been 
the  latest  to  receive  responsible  self-government.  This 
gift  was  bestowed  upon  it  in  189"  not  without  some 
previous  hesitation,  for  the  whole  >  hi'  population  was 
then  about  46,000,  and  the  adult  lak  were  little  over 
15,000.  However,  the  system  t''  n  >  stablished  seems  to 
be  working  smoothly.  There  is  a  ;al»iuet  of  five  min- 
isters, with  two  Houses  of  Le<  ^'lature,  an  Assembly  of 
thirty-seven  and  a  Council  of  elt  ,e.i  members,  the  former 
elected  for  four  years  at  most  (subject  to  the  chance  of 
a  dissolution),  the  latter  appointed  by  the  Governor  for 
ten  years.  No  regular  parties  have  so  far  been  formed, 
nor  can  it  yet  be  foreseen  on  what  lines  they  will  form 
themselves,  for  the  questions  that  have  chiefly  occupied 
the  legislature  are  questions  on  which  few  diiferences 
of  principle  have  as  yet  emerged.  All  the  whites  are 
agreed  in  desiring  to  exclude  Kafirs  and  newcomers 
from  India  from  the  electoral  franchise.  All  are  agreed 
in  approving  the  present  low  tariff,  which  is  for  revenue 
only ;  and  Natal  has  one  of  the  lowest  among  the  tariffs 
in  force  in  British  colonies.  (The  ordinary  ad  valorem  rate 
is  five  per  cent.)  Evea  between  the  citizens  of  English  and 
those  of  Dutch  origin,  the  latter  less  than  one  fourth  of 


H 


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1 1 

■iv 


mm 


'•  I 


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t|| 


f 


290 


IMI'KEShlONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


f 


. 


II 


the  whole  and  living  chiefly  in  the  country,  there  has  been 
but  little  antagonism,  for  the  Dutch,  being  less  numerous 
than  in  Cape  Colony,  are  nnu?h  less  organized.  Among 
the  English,  British  sentiment  is  strong,  f<»r  the  war  of 
1881  with  the  Transvaal  peoph;  not  merely  rea  .akcned 
the  memories  of  the  Boer  siege  of  Durban  in  1842,  bi,t 
provoked  an  anti-Boer  feeling,  which  is  kept  in  check 
only  by  the  necessity  of  conciliating  the  Transvaal  gov- 
ernment in  order  to  secure  as  large  as  possible  a  share  of 
the  import  trade  into  that  country.  As  the  Natal  line  of 
railway  is  a  competitor  for  this  trade  with  the  Cape  lines, 
as  well  as  with  the  line  from  Delagoa  Bay,  there  is  a  keen 
feeling  of  rivalry  toward  Cape  Colony,  which  is  tiiought 
to  have  been  unfriendly  in  annexing  the  native  territo- 
ries of  Griqualand  East  and  Pondoland,  which  lie  to  the 
west  of  Natal,  and  which  the  latter  colony  had  hoi)e(l 
some  day  or  other  to  absorb.  When  her  hopes  of 
territorial  extension  were  closed  on  that  side.  Natal 
began  to  cast  longing  eyes  on  Zululand,  a  hilly  region 
of  rich  pastures  which  is  at  present  directly  administered 
by  the  Imperial  Government,  and  which  contains  not 
only  some  gold-reefs  of  still  unascertained  value,  but 
also  good  beds  of  coal.  And  now  (1897)  the  home  gov- 
ernment has  consented  to  allow  Natal  to  absorb  both 
Zululand  and  the  Tonga  country  all  the  way  north  to  the 
Portuguese  frontier. 

The  political  life  of  Natal  flows  in  a  tranquil  current, 
because  the  population  is  not  merely  small,  but  also  scat- 
tered over  a  relatively  wide  area,  with  only  two  centers 
of  population  that  rise  above  the  rank  of  villages.  The 
people,  moreover,  lead  an  easy  and  quiet  life.  The}'  are 
fairly  well  oif,  occupying  large  cattle-farms,  and  with  no 
great  inducement  to  bring  a  great  deal  of  land  under 


I: 


THROIT.II   NATAL  TO  THE  ^'{ANHVAAL 


•Jit  7 


tillajjo,  bccjuise  tlic  (Iciiminl  for  agriciiltiinil  produce  is 
still  (Comparatively  small.  Not  much  over  one  fortieth  part 
of  tlio  surface  is  (uiltivatcd,  of  which  alxuit  two  humlrcd 
thoui-aud  acres  are  cultivated  by  Europt'ans,  of  course  by 
the  hands  of  colored  lal)orers.  Suj:jar  is  raised  aloiij;  the 
coast,  and  tea  has  lately  bej^nni  to  be  jjrowu.  The  Na- 
talia!is  have,  perhaps,  become  the  less  enei'jretic  in  devel- 
opinj,'  the  natural  resources  of  their  country  beciause 
thrie«c  in  their  recent  history  the  ecpiable  cmirse  of  devel- 
opment has  been  disturbed.  In  1^71  numy  of  the  most 
active  spirits  were  drawn  away  to  the  newly  discovered 
diamond-flelds  of  Kimberley.  In  1879  the  presence  of 
the  large  British  fo»*cc  collected  for  the  j^reat  Zulu  war 
created  a  sudden  denumd  for  all  sorts  of  t'ood-stutl's  and 
forage,  which  disapp<;ared  when  the  troops  were  removed  ; 
and  since  188(5  the  rapid  growth  of  the  Witwatersrand 
gold-ttelds,  besides  carrying  off  the  more  adventurous 
spirits,  has  set  so  many  people  speculating  in  the  shares 
of  mining  companies  that  steady  industry  has  seemed  a 
slow  and  tame  affair.  At  present  not  numy  immigrants 
come  to  Xatal  to  settle  down  as  farmers;  and  the  colonv 
grows  but  slowly  in  wealth  and  i)opulation.  Neverthe- 
less, its  prosperity  in  the  long  run  seems  assured.  It  is 
more  favored  by  soil  and  by  sky  than  most  parts  of  Cape 
Cjlonv.  It  has  an  immense  resource  in  its  extensive 
coal-fields.  Its  trade  and  railway  traffic  are  increasing. 
In  proximity  to  these  coal-fields  it  has  deposits  of  iron 
which  will  one  day  support  large  industrial  communities. 
And  its  inhabitants  are  of  good,  solid  stuft',  Itoth  English, 
Dutch,  and  German,  for  there  are  many  Gernuin  immi- 
grants. No  British  colony  can  show  a  population  of 
better  quality,  and  few  perhaps  one  equally  good. 
Besides  the  railway  (piestion,  which  is  bound  up  with 


I 

i: 


\i 


i   I 


2U!S 


LMI'UESHIONS  OF  SOUTH   AFUICA 


tlio  prolilcin  of  tlie  port  of  Durlmn  aiul  its  bar,  tlie  (lues- 
tioii  vvliicli  has  most  interest  for  tlu^  people  of  Nutal  is 
that  of  tiie  eolore*!  population,  Kafir  and  Indian.  The 
Kafirs,  mostly  of  Zulu  race,  number  4()(),(X)(),  about  ten 
tim(?s  the  whites,  who  are  estinuited  at  oO^OOO.  Nearly 
all  live  under  tribal  law  in  their  own  eommunities, 
owninj^  some  cattle,  aiid  tilling  patches  of  land  which 
amount  in  all  to  about  three  hundred  and  twentv  tho  i- 
sand  acres.  The  law  of  the  colony  wisely  [)reserves 
them  from  tho  use  of  European  spirits.  A  few  of  the 
children  are  taught  in  mission  schools, —  the  only  edu- 
cational machinery  provided  for  them, —  and  a  very  few 
have  been  converted  to  Christianity,  but  the  vast  ma- 
jority are  little  influenced  by  the  whites  in  any  way. 
They  are  generally  peaceable,  and  perpetrate  few  crimes 
of  violence  up«)n  whites ;  but  however  peaceable  they  nuiy 
have  shown  themselves,  their  numerical  preponderance  is 
dis(puetiiig.  A  Kafir  may,  by  the  Governor's  gift,  obtain 
the  electoral  suffrage  when  he  has  lived  under  European 
law  for  at  least  seven  years;  but  it  has  been  bestowed 
on  extremely  few,  so  that  in  fact  the  native  does  not 
come  into  politics  at  all.  The  Indian  immigrants,  now 
reckoned  at  50,000,  are  of  two  classes.  Some  are  coolies, 
who  have  been  imported  from  India  under  indentures 
binding  them  to  work  for  a  term  of  years,  chiefly  on  the 
sugar  plantations  of  the  coast.  Many  of  these  return  at 
the  expiration  of  the  term,  but  more  have  remained,  and 
have  become  artisans  in  the  towns  or  cultivators  of  gar- 
den pat(;hes.  The  other  class,  less  numeroi.s,  but  better 
educated  and  more  intelligent,  consists  (besides  some  free 
immigrants  of  the  humbler  class)  of  so-called  ''Arabs"  — 
Mohammedans,  chiefly  from  Bombay  and  the  ports  near 
it,  or  from  Zanzibar — who  conduct  retail  trade,  espe- 


TIIROUail  NATAL  TO  THE  THANSVAAL 


'-,M)» 


cmlly  with  the  nutiv<'s,  and  soinctinios  Ix-conu!  rich. 
CUiVcr  (h'jihM's,  aiul  willing  to  sell  for  .small  profits,  tiicy 
havo  pracrtically  <Mit  out  the  European  from  business  with 
the  natives,  and  thereby  ineurred  his  dislike.  The  num- 
ber of  the  Indians  w!io,  under  the  previous  franchise  law, 
were  ae(purin^  electoral  rights  had  latterly  grown  so  fast 
that,  partly  owing  to  the  dislike  I  have  just  mentioned, 
partly  to  an  honest  apprehension  that  the  Indian  element, 
as  a  whole,  might  become  unduly  ijowei'ful  in  the  elec- 
torate, an  a(;t  was  recently  (1H!)4)  i)asse(l  by  the  colonial 
legislature  to  exclude  them  from  the  sutfi-age.  The  home 
government  was  not  (piite  satisfied  with  the  terms  in 
which  this  act  was  originally  franu-d,  but  has  now  (1897) 
approved  an  amended  act  which  provides  that  no  persons 
shall  be  hereafter  admitted  to  be  electors  '*  who  (not 
being  of  European  origin)  an;  natives  or  descendants  in 
the  male  line  of  natives  of  countries  which  have  not 
hitherto  possessed  elective  representative  institutions 
founded  on  the  parliamentary  franchise,  unless  they  first 
obtain  from  the  Governor  in  Council  an  order  exempting 
them  from  the  provisions  of  this  act."  Under  this  statute 
the  right  of  suffrage  will  be  withheld  from  luitives  of 
India  and  other  non-European  countries,  such  as  China, 
which  have  no  representative  government,  though  power 
is  reserved  for  the  government  to  admit  specially  favored 
persons.  In  1897  another  act  was  passed  (and  ap- 
proved by  the  home  government)  which  permits  the 
colonial  executive  to  exclude  all  imnngrants  who  cannot 
write  in  European  characters  a  letter  applying  to  be  ex- 
empted from  the  provisions  of  the  law.  It  is  intended  by 
this  measure  to  stop  the  entry  of  uniudeutured  Indian 
immigrants  of  the  humbler  class. 

I  have  referred  particularly  to  this  matter  because  it 


(■I 


' 


! 


5    «i 


r 


[f 


300 


IMPKESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


f 


\'i  m 


illnstratfs  one  of  the  difficulties  which  arise  wherever 
a  higher  and  a  lower,  or  a  stronger  and  a  weaker,  race  live 
together  under  a  democratic  government.  To  make  race 
or  color  or  religion  a  ground  of  political  disability  runs 
counter  to  what  used  to  be  deemed  a  fundamental  prin- 
ciple of  democracy,  and  to  what  has  been  made  (by  recent 
amendments)  a  doctrine  of  the  American  Constitution. 
To  admit  to  full  political  rights,  in  deference  to  al)stract 
theory,  persons  who,  whether  from  deficient  education  or 
want  of  experience  as  citizens  of  a  free  countiy,  are  ob- 
viously unfit  to  exercise  political  power  is,  or  may  be, 
dangerous  to  any  commonwealth.  Some  way  out  of  the 
contradiction  has  to  be  found,  and  the  democratic  Southern 
States  of  the  North  American  Union  and  the  oligarchical 
republic  of  Hawaii,  as  well  as  the  South  African  colonies, 
are  all  trying  to  find  such  a  way.  Natal,  where  the  whites 
are  in  a  small  minority,  now  refuses  the  suffrage  to  both 
Indians  and  Kafirs ;  while  Cape  Colony,  with  a  much  lar- 
ger proportion  of  wliites,  excludes  the  l)ulk  of  her  colored 
people  by  the  judicious  application  of  an  educational  and 
property  qualification.  The  two  Boer  republics  deny  the 
supposed  democratic  principle,  and  are  therefore  consis- 
tent in  denying  political  rights  to  people  of  color.  The 
Australian  colonies  have  taken  an  even  more  drastic 
method.  Most  of  them  forbid  the  Chinese  to  enter  the 
country,  and  admit  the  dark-skinned  Polynesian  only  as  a 
coolie  laboi'cr,  to  be  sent  back  when  his  term  is  complete. 
France,  however,  is  more  indulgent,  and  in  some  of  her 
tropical  colonies  extends  the  right  of  voting,  both  for  local 
assemblies  and  for  members  of  the  National  Asseml)lv  in 

• 

Paris,  to  all  citizens,  without  distinction  of  race  or  color. 

Maritzburg  is  a  cheerful  little  place,  with  an  agreeaV)le 

society,  centered  in  Government  House,  and  composed 


THROUGH  NATAL  TO  THE  TRANSVAAL 


JOl 


of  diverse  elements,  for  the  ministers  of  state  and  other 
officials,  the  clergy,  the  judges,  and  the  officers  of  the  gar- 
rison, furnish  a  number,  considerable  for  so  small  a 
town,  of  capable  and  cultivated  men.  There  are  plenty 
of  excursions,  the  best  of  which  is  to  the  beautiful  falls 
of  the  Umgeni  at  Howick,  where  a  stream,  large  after  the 
rains,  leaps  over  a  sheet  of  basalt  into  a  noble  cirque  snr- 
roundod  by  pivcipices.  Passing  not  far  from  these  falls,  the 
railway  takes  its  northward  course  to  the  Transvaal  bor- 
der.  The  line  climbs  higher  and  higher,  and  the  country 
as  one  recedes  from  the  sea,  grows  always  drier  and  more 
arid.  The  larger  streams  flow  in  (diannels  <,'ut  so  deep  that 
their  water  is  seldom  available  for  irrigation  ;  but  where 
a  rivulet  has  been  led  out  over  level  or  gently  sloping 
ground,  the  abundance  of  the  crop  bears  witness  to 
the  richness  of  the  soil  and  the  power  of  the  sun.  The 
country  is  everywhere  hilly,  and  the  scenery,  which  is 
sometimes  striking,  es})ecially  along  the  banks  of  the 
Tugela  and  the  Buffalo  rivers,  would  ))e  always  pictu- 
rescpie  were  it  not  for  the  bareness  of  the  foregrounds, 
which  seldom  present  anything  except  scattered  patches 
of  thorny  wood  to  vary  the  severity  of  the  landscape. 
Toward  the  base  of  the  great  Qnathlaml)a  or  Drakens- 
berg  Range,  far  to  the  west  of  the  main  line  of  railway, 
there  is  some  very  grand  scenery,  for  the  mountains  which 
on  the  ed[;e  of  Basutoland  rise  to  a  height  of  10,000  feet 
break  down  toward  Natal  in  tremendous  precipices.  A 
considerable  coal-fleld  lies  near  the  village  appropriately 
named  Newcastle,  and  there  are  valuable  deposits  near  the 
village  of  Dundee  also,  whither  a  branch  line  which  serves 
the  collieries  turns  off  to  the  east.  Traveling  steadily  to 
the  north,  the  country  seems  more  and  more  a  wilderness, 
in  which  the  tiny  hamlets  come  at  longer  and  longer  in- 


% 


} 


302 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


'  ' 


n  ■  ici 


II 


tervaLs.  The  ranehing-farms  are  very  large, — usually  six 
thousauu  acres, —  so  there  are  few  settlers ;  and  the  Katirs 
are  also  few,  for  this  high  region  is  cold  in  winter,  and  tlie 
dry  soil  does  not  favor  cultivation.  At  last,  as  one  rounds 
a  corner  after  a  steep  ascent,  a  bold  mountain  comes  into 
sight,  and  to  the  east  of  it,  connecting  it  with  a  lower  hill, 
a  ridge  or  neck,  pierced  by  a  tunnel.  The  ridge  is  Laing's 
Nek,  and  the  mountain  is  Majuba  Hill,  spots  famous  in 
bouth  African  history  as  the  scenes  of  the  battles  of  1881 
in  the  Transvaal  War  of  Independence.  Few  conflicts  in 
which  so  small  a  number  of  combatants  v/ere  engaged 
have  so  much  affected  the  course  of  history  as  these  bat- 
tles; and  the  inte^'est  they  still  excite  justifies  a  short  de- 
scription of  the  place. 

Laing's  Nek,  a  ridge  5500  feet  above  the  sea  and  rising 
rather  steeply  about  300  feet  above  its  southern  base, 
is  part  of  the  Quathlamba  watershed,  which  separates 
the  streams  that  run  south  into  the  Indian  Ocean  from 
those  which  the  Vaal  on  the  north  carries  into  the  Orange 
River  and  so  to  the  Atlantic.  It  is  in  fact  on  the  south- 
eastern edge  of  that  great  interior  table-land  of  which 
I  have  so  often  spoken.  Across  it  there  ran  in  1881,  and 
still  runs,  the  principal  road  from  Natal  into  the  Transvaal 
Republic, —  there  was  no  railway  here  in  1881, —  and  by 
it  therefore  the  British  forces  that  were  proceeding  from 
Natal  to  reconquer  the  Transvaal  after  the  outbreak  of 
December,  1880,  had  to  advance  to  relieve  the  garrisons 
beleaguered  in  the  latter  country.  Accordingly,  the  Boer 
levies,  numbering  about  a  thousand  men,  resolved  to 
occupy  it,  and  on  January  27  they  encamped  with  their 
wagons  just  behind  the  top  of  the  ridge.  The  frontier 
lies  five  miles  farther  to  the  north,  so  that  at  the  Nek 
itself  they  were  in  the  territory  of  Natal.     The  British 


THROUGH   NATAL   TO  THE   TRANSVAAL 


303 


force  of  about  one  thousand  men,  with  .1  few  ^wm^,  arrived 
the  same  day  at  a  point  four  nules  to  the  south,  and 
l)itched  their  tents  on  a  hillside  still  called  Prospect 
Camp,  undei  the  command  of  General  Sir  George  CoUey, 
a  brave  officer,  well  versed  in  the  history  and  theory  of 
war,  but  with  little  experience  of  operations  in  the  field. 
Undervaluing  the  rude  militia  opposed  to  liim,  he  next 
day  attacked  their  position  on  the  Nek  in  front ;  but  the 
British  troops,  exposed,  as  they  climbed  the  slope,  to  a 
well-directed  fire  from  the  Boers,  who  were  in  perfect 
shelter  along  the  top  of  the  ridge,  suffered  so  severely 
that  they  had  to  halt  and  retire  before  they  could  reach 
the  top  or  even  see  their  antagonists.  A  monument  to 
Colonel  Deane,  who  led  his  coluini:  up  the  slope  and  fell 
there  pierced  by  a  bullet,  marks  the  spot.  Three  weeks 
later  (after  an  unfortunate  skirmish  on  the  8th),  judging 
the  Nek  to  be  impregnable  in  front,  for  his  force  was 
small,  but  noting  that  it  was  comnumded  by  the  heights 
of  Majuba  Hill,  which  rise  1400  feet  above  it  on  the  west, 
the  Britisl-  general  determined  to  seize  that  point.  Ma- 
juba is  composed  of  alternate  strata  of  sandstone  and 
shale  lying  nearly  horizontally,  and  capped — as  is  often 
the  case  in  these  mountains  —  by  a  bed  of  hard  igneous 
rock  (a  porphyritic  greenstone).  The  top  is  less  than  a 
mile  in  circumference,  depressed  some  sixty  or  seventy 
feet  in  the  center,  so  as  to  form  a  sort  of  saucer-like 
basin.  Here  has  been  built  a  tiny  cemetery,  in  which 
some  of  the  British  soldiers  who  were  killed  lie  buried, 
and  hard  by,  on  the  spot  where  he  fell,  is  a  stone  in 
memory  of  General  Colley.  The  hill  proper  is  fully 
eight  hundred  feet  above  its  base,  and  the  base  about 
six  hundred  feet  above  Laing's  Nek,  with  which  it  is 
connected  by  a  gently  sloping  ridge  less  than  a  mile  long. 


I  i 


h 


!. 


ff 


304 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


f 


(    :i 


!( 


It  takes  an  honi-'s  steady  walking  to  raxoh  the  Siimmit 
from  the  Xek;  the  latter  part  of  the  ascent  btMK^  steep, 
with  an  angle  of  from  twenty  to  thirty  degrees-^  aad  here 
and  there  escarped  into  low  faces  of  cliff  in  which  the 
harder  sandstone  strata  are  exi)osed. 

The  British  general  started  on  the  night  of  Saturday, 
February  26,  from  Prospect  Camp,  left  two  dctci,oh- 
ments  on  the  way,  and  reached  the  top  of  the  Irll,  after 
some  hard  climbing  up  the  steep  west  side,  at  3  a.m. 
with  something  over  four  hundred  men.  When  day 
broke,  at  5  a.m.,  tlie  Boers  below  on  the  Nek  were  aston- 
ished to  see  British  redcoats  on  the  sky-line  of  the  hill 
higli  above  them,  and  at  first,  thinking  thuir  position 
turned,  began  to  inspan  their  oxen  ai.d  prepare  for  a 
retreat.  Presently,  when  !io  artillery  played  upon  them 
from  the  hill,  and  no  sign  of  a  hostile  movement  came 
from  Prospect  Camp  in  front  of  them  to  the  south,  they 
took  heart,  and  a  small  party  started  out,  moved  along 
the  ridge  toward  Majuba  Hill,  and  at  last,  linding  them- 
selves still  unopposed,  began  to  mount  the  hill  itself,  A 
second  party  supported  this  forlorn  hope,  and  kept  up  a 
fire  upon  the  hill  while  the  first  party  climbed  the  steepest 
parts.  Each  set  of  skirmishers,  as  they  came  within 
range,  openj^d  fire  a»  the  British  above  them,  who,  ex- 
posed on  tlie  upp.u"  iloj  ?  and  along  the  edge  of  the  top, 
offered  an  easy  niin-k,  vvhile  the  Boers,  moving  along  far 
below,  and  in  places  sheltered  by  the  precipitous  bits  of 
the  slope,  where  the  hard  beds  of  sandstone  run  in  minia- 
ture cliffs  along  the  hillside,  did  not  suffer  in  the  least 
from  the  irregular  shooting  which  a  few  of  the  British 
tried  to  direct  on  them.  Thus  steadily  advancing,  and 
firing  as  they  advanced,  the  Boers  reached  at  last  the 
edge  of  the  hilltop,  where  the  British  had  neglected  to 


THROUGH   NATAL   TO  THE   TRANdVAAL 


[iO'j 


erect  any  proper  brL'Jist\v<.;rks  o.  shelter,  and  began  to 
pour  in  their  bn.lh^ts  with  still  more  deiidiy  effect  upou 
the  hesitating  and  already  deiuoralized  troops  in  the  sau- 
cer-like hollow  beneath  them.  A  charge  with  the  bayonet 
might  even  then  have  saved  the  day.  But  though  the 
ortk'r  was  given  to  fix  bayonets,  the  order  to  charge  did 
not  follow.  General  Coilev  fell  shot  throuy-h  the  head, 
while  his  forces  broke  and  fled  down  the  steep  declivities 
to  the  south  and  west,  where  manv  were  killed  bv  the 
Boer  fire.  The  British  loss  was  ninetv-two  killed,  one 
hundred  and  thirty-four  wounded,  and  fifty-nine  taken 
prisoners;  while  the  Boers,  who  have  given  their  number 
at  four  hundred  and  fifty,  lost  only  one  man  killed  and 
five  wounded.  No  wonder  they  ascribed  their  victory  to 
a  direct  interposition  of  Providence  on  their  behalf. 

The  Britisli  visitor,  to  whom  this  explanation  does  not 
commend  itself,  is  stupefied  when  he  sees  the  sp(jt  and 
hears  the  tale.  Military  authorities,  however,  declare 
that  it  is  an  error  to  suppose  that  the  o:!Cupants  of  a 
height  have,  under  circumstances  like  those  of  this  figl  *^^, 
the  advantage  which  a  height  naturally  seems  to  give 
them.  It  is,  they  say,  much  easier  for  skirmishers  to  shoot 
from  below  at  enemies  above,  than  for  those  abo.e  to 
pick  off  skirmishers  below;  and  this  fa(;t  of  course  maJ'es 
still  more  difference  when  the  attacking  force  are  >i .'cus- 
tomed to  hill-shooting  and  the  defenders  above  are  not. 
But  allowing  for  both  these  causes,  tlie  attack  could  not 
have  succeeded  had  Laing's  Nek  bt  i  assailed  from  th'^ 
front  by  the  forces  at  Prospect  Canij  and  probably  would 
never  have  been  made  had  the  British  on  the  hill  taken 
the  offensive  earlv  in  the  dav. 

We  reached  the  top  of  the  mountain  in  a  dense  cloud, 
which  presently  broke  in  a  furious  thunderstorm,  the  flash 
so 


II 


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306 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


1 


11 


and  the  crash  coming  together  at  the  same  moiiient,  nliilc 
the  rain  quickly  turned  tlie  bottom  of  tlie  saueer-like  hol- 
h)\v  ahnost  into  a  hike.  Wlien  the  storm  cknired  away 
wliat  a  iiu'hmehoiv  si^ht  was  tliis  little  Lirassv  basiu 
strewn  with  loose  stones,  and  bearing-  in  its  midst  tlie 
graves  of  the  British  dead  inclosed  within  a  low  wall! 
A  remote  and  silent  place,  raised  high  in  air  above  the 
vast,  bare,  brown  coimtry  which  stretched  away  east, 
south,  and  west  without  a  trace  of  human  habitation,  A 
spot  less  likely  to  have  become  the  scene  of  human  jias- 
sion,  terror,  and  despair  could  hardly  'oe  imagined.  Yet 
it  has  taken  its  place  among  the  most  remai-kaMc  l)attle- 
fields  in  recent  history,  and  its  name  has  lived,  and  lives 
to-day,  in  men's  minds  as  a  force  of  tremendous  potency. 


1)!!    r 


Crossing  Laiug's  Nek, —  the  top  of  which  few  future 
travelers  will  tread,  because  the  railway  passes  in  a 
tunnel  beneath  it, —  one  crosses  the  main  v;atershed  of 
South  Africa,  and  comes  out  on  the  north  upon  the  great 
rolling  plateau  whv'.h  stretches  to  the  Zambesi  in  one  di- 
rection and  to  the  Atlantic  in  another.  Four  or  five  miles 
further,  a  little  beyond  the  village  of  Charleston,  one 
leaves  Natal  and  enters  the  South  African  Republic.  The 
railway  had  just  been  completed  at  the  time  of  our  visit, 
iiud  though  it  was  uot  opened  for  traffic  till  some  weeks 
later,  we  were  allowed  to  run  over  it  to  the  point  where 
it  joins  the  great  line  from  Cape  Town  to  Pretoria.  The 
journey  was  attended  with  some  risk,  for  in  several 
places  the  permanent  way  had  aur.k,  and  in  others  it  had 
been  so  insecurely  laid  that  our  locomotive  and  car  had 
t.'i  pass  very  slowly  and  cautiously.  The  country  is  so 
sp;;rsel};  ,  copied  that  if  one  did  not  know  it  was  all  taken 
up  in  large  grazing-farms  one  might  suppose  it  still  a 


|i    ;  I  ■' 


TlIItOUGH   NATAL   TO  THE   TRANSVAAL 


307 


wilderness.  Here  and  there  a  few  lionses  are  set-n,  and 
one  place,  Ileiddberji!:,  rises  to  the  dignity'  of  a  small 
town,  being  built  at  the  extreme  southeastern  end  of  tlie 
great  Witwatersrand  gold-basin,  where  a  piece  of  good 
reef  is  worked,  and  a  mining  population  has  begun  to 
gatlier.  The  country  is  all  higli,  averaging  oOOO  feet 
al)Ove  sea-level,  and  is  traversed  l:)y  ridges  whicli  rise 
some  500  to  1000  feet  more.  It  is  also  perfectly  bare, 
except  for  thorny  mimosas  scattered  here  and  there,  with 
willows  fringing  the  banks  of  the  few  streams. 

(Ireat  is  the  contrast  when  on  reaching  Elandsfontein, 
on  the  main  line  of  railwav,  one  finds  one's  self  suddenlv 
in  the  midst  of  the  stir  and  bustle  of  industrial  life. 
Here  are  the  tall  chimneys  of  engine-houses;  here  huge 
heaps  of  refuse  at  the  shafts  of  the  mines  nuirk  the  di- 
rection across  the  country  of  the  great  gold-reef.  Here 
for  the  first  time  since  he  quitted  the  suburbs  of  Cape 
Town,  the  traveler  rinds  himself  again  surrounded  by  a 
dense  population,  tilled  with  the  eagerness,  ami  feeling 
the  strain  and  stress,  of  an  industrial  life  like  that  of  the 
manufacturing  C(mimunities  of  Europe  or  of  North 
America.  Fifteen  years  ago  there  was  hardly  a  sign  of 
human  occupation.  The  Boer  ranchman  sent  out  his 
native  b(>vs  to  follow  the  cattle  as  tliev  wandered  hither 
and  thither,  seeking  scanty  pasturage  among  the  stones, 
and  would  have  been  glad  to  sell  for  a  hundred  pounds 
the  land  on  which  Johannesburg  now  stands,  and  beneath 
which  some  of  the  richest  mines  are  woiked. 

The  Witwatersrand  (Whitewatersridge)  is  a  rocky  ridge 
rising  from  one  to  two  or  three  hundred  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  adjoining  country  and  running  nearly 
east  and  west  about  thirty  miles.  Along  its  southern 
slope  the  richest  reefs  or  beds  containing  gold  (except 


I" 


H 


[f 


308 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFKICA 


that.  !U'ar  tlie  vilhif^e  of  Heidelber*;^)  have  been  found; 
but  the  whole  ^okl-lmsin,  in  various  parts  of  which 
payabh;  reefs  have  been  proved  to  exist  and  are  being 
worked,  is  nearly  one  hundred  and  thii'ty  miles  long  by 
thirty  miles  wide.  It  is  called  a  basin  because  the  various 
outcropping  reefs  represent  approxinuitely  the  rim  of  a 
basin,  and  dip  to  a  common  center.  But  there  are  many 
faults  which  have  so  changed  the  positions  of  the  reefs 
in  different  places  as  largely  to  obliterate  the  resemblance 
indicated  by  the  term.  It  would  hv  i?npossible  to  give 
either  a  geological  accoiuit  of  the  district  or  a  practical 
description  of  the  methods  of  working  without  maps  and 
plans  and  a  number  of  details  unsuitable  to  this  book; 
so  I  will  mention  merely  a  few  salient  facts,  referring 
the  curious  reader  to  the  elal)orate  treatise  of  Messrs. 
Hatch  and  Chalmers  published  in   1895. 

The  Rand  gold-mining  district  at  present  consists  of 
a  line  of  niiney  both  east  and  west  of  Johannesburg, 
along  the  outcrop  of  the  principal  reefs.  It  is  about 
forty-six  miles  long,  but  "  gold  does  not  occur  continu- 
ously in  payable  quantities  over  that  extent,  the  'pay-ore' 
being  found  in  irregular  patches,  and  (less  frequently) 
in  well-defined  'pay-shoots'  similar  to  those  which  char- 
acterize qiuirtz  veins." '  There  are  also  a  few  scattered 
mines  in  other  parts  of  the  basin.  On  this  line  there 
are  two  principal  reefs — the  Main  Reef,  with  its  so-called 
"leader,''  a  thin  bed  just  outside  and  parallel  to  it,  and 
the  South  Reef,  with  several  others  which  are  at  present 
of  much  less  importance.  The  term  "reef"  means  a  bed 
or  stratum  of  rock,  and  these  Rand  reefs  are  beds  of  a 
sort  of  conglomerate,  consisting  of  sandy  and  claj^ey  mat- 

1  Mr.  J.  Hays  Hammond  in  ''North  American  Review"  for  Febru- 
ary, 1897. 


TIIKonm    NATAL   TO   THE   THANSVaAL 


:<(»{) 


ter  containiiifj^  quartz  p('l)l)l('.s.  The  pp')bles  are  mostly 
small,  from  the  size  of  a  thiMisli's  eir^  up  to  that  of  a 
goose's  egir,  and  contain  no  gold.  The  arenaceous  or  ar- 
gillaceous stuff  in  which  they  lie  imbedded  is  extremely 
hard,  and  strongly  impregnated  with  iron,  mostly  in  the 
form  of  iron  pyrites,  which  hinds  it  together.  It  is  in 
this  stuff,  or  sandy  and  ferreous  cement,  that  the  jjjold  oc- 
curs. The  Boers  call  the  conglomerate  ^''bunket^^  (ai;- 
cented  on  the  last  syllal)l(;),  which  is  their  name  for  a 
kind  of  sweetmeat,  because  the  })ebl)les  lying  in  the  ce- 
ment are  like  almonds  in  the  sugary  substance  of  the 
sweetmeat.  The  gold  is  pretty  eijuably  diffused  in  the 
form  of  crystals  or  (less  often)  of  tlakes  —  crystals  of  such 
extremely  small  size  as  to  be  yery  rarely  yisible  to  tho 
naked  eye.  Here  and  there,  howeyer,  the  banket  is 
trayersed  by  thin  yeins  of  quartz  ro(^k,  and  nuggets, 
mostly  quite  small,  are  occ^asionally  found  in  this  (juartz. 

The  "Main  Reef  series"  consists  of  seyeral  parallel  l)eds 
of  yarying  size  and  thiekness,  whi(Oi  have  not  been  cor- 
related throughout  their  entire  length  ;  at  some  points 
two  may  be  workable,  at  others  three.  The  ]Main  Reef 
bed  yaries  from  one  to  twenty  feet  in  thickness;  its 
'' leader,"  which  is  richer  in  gold,  from  three  inches  to 
three  feet;  and  the  South  Reef,  also  generally  rich,  from 
three  inches  to  six  feet.  The  Main  Reef  ])ro|)er,  how- 
eyer, is  of  too  low  an  ore  grade  to  be  profitably  worked 
under  present  economic  conditions,  though  at  two  or  thi'ce 
mines  a  percentage  of  it  is  milled  in  conjunction  with  the 
richer  ore  from  the  other  beds. 

Where  these  beds  come  to  the  surface,  they  are  inclined, 
or  ''dip,"  as  geologists  say,  at  an  angle  of  from  G(P  to 
30°,  and  the  shafts  are  now  usually  sunk  to  follow  the 
line  of  dip.     But  as  they  are  followed  down  into  the 


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IMl'liKSSlUNh   OF   SULTII   AFliICA 


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earth,  tli(^  anj^lt'  (liinitiislics  to  IJ(P  or  25^,  and  it  appears 
fM'rtjiin  that  at  a  .still  jj^rcator  (l(![)tli  thoy  will  Ix;  foiiiul  to 
li(^  lu'ui-ly  liorizontal.  This  fact  is  cxtn'mcly  important, 
bi'causo  it  pi'oniistjs  to  make  a  iniu'li  lar^'cr  part  of  tin;  heils 
availahh^  than  wonhl  l)t'  tho  case  if  they  continued  to 
plun^'c  downward  at  a  hij^h  anj^^'lc,  since  in  that  case  they 
vvonld  sooner  attain  a  depth  at  which  ndnin^  would  l)e 
iinpossilde,  because  th(!  lieat  wouM  ))e  too  ^'reat,  a!ul  prob- 
ably un}»rolital)le  also,  l)e(niuse  the  cost  of  raisini^  the  ore 
would  be  extrenu'ly  heavy.  At  present  the  orcutest  de[)th 
to  which  worUinj^s  have  been  carried  is  about  2400  feet, 
but  skilled  engineers  think  it  ])ossible  to  work  as  deej)  as 
5000  feet,  though  labor  1)e('()nies  nion;  ditlicult  above;  the 
tenipei-ature  of  100°  Fahrenheit,  which  is  reacheci  at  3000 
feet  beneath  the  surface.  No  ditTiculty  from  tempera- 
ture has  been  felt  at  2400  feet,  and  the  water  is  found  to* 
give  little  troul)le;  indeed,  a  very  experienced  engineer 
(to  wliose  courtesy  I  am  indebted  for  these  facts)  tells 
me  that  he  thinks  most  of  the  water  comes  from  the  sur- 
face and  can  be  taken  up  in  the  upper  levels  of  the  mine 
which  is  being  worked  at  the  dei)th  mentioned.  I  have 
given  these  details  in  order  to  show  how  enormous  a 
mass  of  ore  remains  to  be  extracted  when  the  deep  work- 
ings, which  are  still  in  their  infancy,  have  l)een  fairly  en- 
tered upon.  But  a  still  more  remarkable  fact  is  that  the 
auriferous  banket  beds  appear,  so  far  as  they  have  been 
followed  by  deep  borings,  to  retain,  as  they  descend  into 
the  earth,  not  only  their  average  thickness,  but  also  their 
average  mineral  quality.  Here  is  the  striking  feature  of 
the  Rand  gold-beds,  which  makes  them,  so  far  as  we  know, 
unique  in  the  world. 

Everywhere  else  gold-mining  is  a  comparatively  haz- 
ardous and  uncertain  enterprise.    Where  the  metal   is 


THKoroiI   NATAli  To  TIIK  TUANSVAAL 


•M  I 


fouml  in  alluvijil  (li'i)()sits,  tlie  do[)(»sits  iisimlly  vary  much 
in  tiio  piTccntaj:;*'  of  <;ol(l  to  tliL'  ton  of  soil  which  tiicy 
vichl,  and  tht-v  arc  nsnallv  cxliaustcd  in  a,  few  years. 
Wh(?ro  it  0(!(!urs  in  veins  of  (|nartz-rock  (tlic  usual  nui- 
trix),  tlicsc  veins  are  p'uerally  iri'c^ndar  in  tlieir  thick- 
ness, often  (roinini;'  a1)rn|»tly  t<>  an  end  as  one  folhnvs 
Iheni  downward,  and  still  inoi-e  irregular  and  uncci'tain 
in  the  percentage  of  •;'old  tf»  rock.  l''or  a  few  yards  your 
<iuart/-reef  may  ))e  extremely  ricli,  and  thereafter  the  >'o- 
callcd  "shoot''  may  stop,  and  the  vein  contain  so  little 
^old  as  not  to  pay  the  cost  of  workinu'.  Hut  in  the  AVit- 
watersrand  basin  the  j)re(Mous  metal  is  so  uniformly  and 
C(iually  distributccl  throueh  the  auriferous  beds  that 
when  you  have  found  a  payable  l)ed  you  nuiy  calculate 
with  more  conlidenee  than  you  can  anywhere  else  tiiat 
the  hi^h  projjortion  of  jj^old  to  rock  will  be  maintained 
throug'hout  the  bed,  not  only  in  its  lateral  extension, 
which  can  be  easily  verified,  but  also  as  it  dips  downward 
into  the  ])owels  of  the  earth.  It  is,  therefore,  not  so  much 
the  richness  of  this  fi'old-lield  —  for  the  percentaj^'c  of 
metal  to  i*o(?k  is  seldom  very  high,  and  the  cost  of  work- 
ing the  hard  rock  and  disengaging  the  metal  from  the 
minerals  with  which  it  is  associated  ar?  heavy  items  —  as 
it  is  the  comparative  certainty  of  return,  and  the  vast 
([uantity  of  ore  from  which  that  return  nuiy  be  expected, 
that  have  made  the  Rand  famous,  have  drawn  to  it  a 
great  mass  of  European  capital  and  a  large  population, 
and  have  made  the  district  the  object  of  political  desires, 
ambition,  and  contests  which  transcend  South  Africa  and 
threaten  to  become  a  part  of  the  game  which  the  great 
powers  of  Europe  are  playing  on  the  chessboard  of  the 
world. 

A  high  mining  authority  tells  me   that   the  banket 


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IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


or  cougloineratt'  l)e(ls  arc  proltably  of  marine  origin,  but 
tliat  skilled  opinion  now  eoneeives  that  the  gold  was 
not  deposited  j>«>'i  2)assu  with  the  deposition  of  the  beds, 
but  was  carried  into  the  conglomerate  seams  subse- 
quently to  their  deposit.  In  this  respect  they  resemble 
auriferous  veins  of  quartz,  though  in  these  banket  reefs 
the  gold-bearing  solutions  would  seem  to  have  come  up 
through  the  interstitial  spaces  of  the  conglomerate  in- 
stead of  in  the  more  or  less  open  fissures  of  the  gold- 
bearing  quartz-veins.  The  chemical  conditions  under 
which  gold  is  thus  deposited  are  still  conjectural.  Gold 
has  long  been  known  to  exist  in  sea-water,  in  the  form 
of  an  iodide  or  a  chloride ;  and  one  skilful  metallurgist 
at  Johannesburg  told  me  that  he  believed  there  was  as 
much  gold  in  a  cubic  mile  of  sea-water  as  the  whole  an- 
nual output  of  the  Rand  —  that  is  to  say,  nearly  £8,000,- 
000  ($40,000,000). 

Had  these  deposits  been  discovered  a  century  ago,  few, 
if  any  of  them,  would  have  been  worth  working,  because 
miners  did  not  then  possess  the  necessary  means  for 
extracting  the  gold  from  its  intractable  matrix.  It  is 
the  progress  of  chemical  science  which,  by  inventing  new 
processes,  such  as  the  roasting  with  chlorin,  the  treat- 
ment in  vats  with  cyanide,  and  the  application  of  electri- 
cal currents,  has  made  the  working  profitable.  Further 
improvements  in  the  processes  of  reduction  will  doubtless 
increase  the  mining  area,  by  making  it  worth  while  to 
develop  mines  where  the  percentage  of  metal  to  rock  is 
now  too  small  to  yield  a  dividend.  Improvements,  more- 
over, tend  to  accelerate  the  rate  of  production,  and  there- 
by to  shorten  the  life  of  the  mines ;  for  the  more  profit- 
able working  becomes,  the  greater  is  the  temptation  to 
work  as  fast  as  possible  and  get  out  the  maximum  of  ore. 


).  'i 


$! 


THROUGH   NATAL   TO  THE  TRANSVAAL 


313 


The  duration  of  the  mines,  as  a  whole,  is  therefore  a 
difficult  problem,  for  it  involves  the  ciuestion  whether 
many  pieces  of  reef,  which  are  now  little  worked  or  not 
worked  at  all,  will  in  future  be  found  wortli  workiiijr, 
owin^  to  cheapened  appliances  and  to  a  larger  yield  of 
gold  per  ton  of  rock,  in  which  case  the  number  of  mines 
may  be  largely  increased,  and  reefs  now  neglected  be 
opened  up  when  the  present  ones  have  been  exhausted. 
The  view  of  the  most  competent  specialists  seems  to  l)e 
that,  though  many  of  what  are  now  the  best  properties 
will  imjbablv  be  worked  (mt  in  twentv  or  thirtv  vears, 
the  district,  as  a  whole,  will  not  be  exhausted  for  at  least 
fifty,  or  possibly  even  foi*  seventy  or  eighty  years  to 
come.  And  the  value  of  the  gold  to  be  extracted  within 
those  fifty  years  has  been  roughly  estimated  at  not  less 
than  £700,000,000  (over  $3,500,000,000),  of  which  £200,- 
000,000  will  be  clear  profit,  the  balance  going  to  pay 
the  cost  of  extraction.  In  189G  the  value  of  the  Wit 
watersrand  gold  output  was  £7,400,000  i. $37,000,000).! 
Assuming  a  production  of  nearly  twice  that  amount,  viz., 
£14,000,000  ($70,000,000)  a  year,  this  would  exhaust  the 
field  in  fifty  years  ;  but  it  is,  of  course,  quite  impossil^le  to 
l)redict  what  the  future  rate  of  production  will  be,  for  that 
must  depend  not  only  on  the  progress  of  mechanical  and 
chemical  science,  but  (as  we  shall  presently  se-)  to  some 
extent  also  upon  administrative  and  even  political  condi- 
tions. In  the  five  years  preceding  1896  the  production 
had  increased  so  fast  (at  the  rate  of  about  a  million  ster- 
ling per  annum)  that,  even  under  the  conditions  which 
existed  in  1895,  every  one  expected  a  further  increase, 
and  the  product  of  1897  will  probably  be  not  far  short  of 

1  The  total  output  of  the  California  gold  deposits  up  to  the  end  of 
1896  was  $1,282,000,000  (£256,000,000). 


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IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


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£10,000,000.  With  more  favorable  economic  and  admin- 
isti'ative  (conditions  it  might  within  four  years  reacli 
£14,000,000;  and  tlie  South  African  Repu))lic  would  then 
stand  first  among  the  gokl-producing  countries.  She  is 
now  second  to  tlie  United  States  only.  The  total  annual 
output  of  gold  for  the  whole  world  was  in  1896  about 
£'!3,()00,000  ($218,000,000). 

Among  the  economic  conditions  I  have  referred  to, 
none  is  more  important  than  the  supply  and  the  wages 
of  laljor.  On  the  Rand,  as  in  all  South  African  mines 
of  every  kind,  unskilled  manual  labor  is  performed  by 
Kafirs,  whites  —  together  with  a  few  half-breeds  and  In- 
dian coolies  —  being  employed  for  all  operations,  whether 
within  the  mine  or  above  the  ground,  which  re(piire  in- 
telligence and  special  knowledge. 

The  total  number  of  natives  employed  in  1896  has  been 
given  at  about  58,000,  and  of  whites  about  GOOO.  Mr. 
Hammond  ('' Xorth  American  Review"  for  Febi'uary,  1897) 
puts  the  Kafii's  at  70,000,  receiving  nearly  $12,500,000  in 
annual  wages,  and  the  whites  at  9000,  receiving  over 
$9,000,000.  Whites  would  be  still  more  largely  employed 
if  they  would  work  harder,  but  they  disdain  the  more 
severe  kinds  of  labor,  thinking  those  fit  only  for  Kafirs. 
The  native  workmen  are  of  various  tribes,  Basutos,  Zulus, 
Shanganis,  and  Zambesi  boys  being  reckoned  the  best. 
Most  of  them  come  from  a  distance,  some  from  great  dis- 
tances, and  return  home  when  they  have  saved  the  sum 
they  need  to  establish  themselves  in  life.  Wages  are 
high,  rising  for  Kafirs  to  £3  ($15)  for  a  lunar  month, 
while  white  men  of  course  receive  much  more.  The 
dream  of  the  mine  manager  is  to  cut  down  the  cost  of 
native  labor  by  getting  a  larger  and  more  regular  sup- 
ply, as  well  as  by  obtaining  cheaper  maize  to  feed  the 


^iri! 


THROUGH  NATAL   TO  TIIH   TKANSVAAI. 


315 


workmen,  for  at  present,  owing  to  tlio  customs  duties  on 
food-stuffs,  the  cost  of  rniiize  —  nearly  all  of  wliieli  is  im- 
ported  —  is  much  liij^her  than  it  need  be.  So  white 
labor  mij^lit  be  mueh  cheapened,  vhile  still  remain- 
in  j^  far  better  paid  than  in  Europe,  by  a  reduction  of 
the  customs  tariff,  which  now  makes  livin*^  inordinately 
dear.  Ileavv  duties  are  levied  on  machinery  and  chemi- 
cals:  and  dynamite  is  costly,  the  mannfactun*  of  it  hay- 
ing  been  constituted  a  monopoly  granted  to  a  single 
person.  Of  all  these  things,  h)ud  comi)laints  are  hear<l, 
but  perhaps  the  loudest  are  directed  against  the  rates  of 
freight  levied  by  the  railways,  and  especially  by  the 
Netherlands  Company,  which  owns  the  railways  insi<ie 
the  Transvaal  State  itself. 

Even  apart  from  the  question  of  I'aihvay  freights, 
Johannesburg  believed  in  1895  that  better  legislation  and 
administration  might  reduce  the  cost  of  production  by 
twenty  or  thirty  per  cent.,  a  difference  which  would  of 
course  be  rapidly  felt  in  the  dividends  of  the  mines  that 
now  pay,  and  which  would  «Miable  many  now  unprofitable 
mines  to  yield  a  dividend  and  many  mines  to  be  worked 
which  are  now  not  worth  working.  ^ 

There  is  nothing  in  the  natural  aspect  of  the  mining  belt 

to  distinguish  it  from  the  rest  of  the  Transvaal  plateau. 

It  is  a  high,  dry,  bare,  scorched,  and  windy  country,  and 

Johannesburg,  its  center,  stands  in  o:io  of  the  highest, 

driest,  and  windiest  spots,  on  the  south  slope  of  the  Wit- 

1  The  cost  of  getting  the  ore  has  been  foixiid  in  the  case  of  twenty- 
two  upper  level  companies  in  the  best  part  of  the  Hand  to  average 
twenty-nine  shillings  and  sixpence  per  ton.  A  little  French  book 
("L'Industrie  Minifere  an  Transvaal,"  published  in  1897),  which  pre- 
sents a  caret'id  examination  of  these  questions,  calculates  at  aboTit 
thirty  per  cent,  of  the  expenditure  the  savings  in  production  which 
better  legislation  and  administration  might  render  possible. 


ji 


11*  i 


( 


•  .. 

' !  ill 

i 

I 


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U 


1 


li  (4 , 


310 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


I'ti 


(*: 


'« 


watersrand  ridge,  whose  top  rises  some  one  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  above  he  business  (juarters.  Founded  in  1886, 
the  town  has  now  a  popuhition  exceeding  100,000,  more 
tlian  half  of  them  whites.  In  1896  tlie  census  (probably 
imperfe(;t)  showed  within  a  radius  of  three  miles  50,000 
whites,  42,000  Kafirs,  and  6000  Asiatics.  ThougJi  it  is 
rapidly  passing  from  the  stage  of  shanties  and  corrugated 
iron  into  that  of  handsome  streets  lined  with  tall  brick 
houses,  it  is  still  rough  and  irregular,  ill  paved,  ill  lighted, 
with  unbuilt  spaces  sccittered  about  and  good  houses  set 
down  among  hovels. 

Another  element  of  unloveliness  is  supplied  by  the 
mines  themselves,  for  the  chief  ri^efs  run  quite  close  to 
the  southern  part  of  the  town,  and  the  huge  heaps  of 
"waste  rock"  or  refuse  and  so-called  "  tailings,"  the  ma- 
chinery which  raises,  crushes,  and  treats  the  ore,  and  the 
tall  chimneys  of  the  engine-houses,  are  prominent  (►bjects 
in  the  suburbs.  There  is  not  much  smoke ;  but  to  set 
against  this  there  is  a  vast  deal  of  dust,  plenty  from  the 
streets,  and  still  more  from  the  tailings  and  other  hea])S 
of  highly  comminuted  ore-refuse.  The  .streets  and  roads 
alternate  between  mud  for  the  two  wet  months,  and  dust 
in  the  rest  of  the  year ;  and  in  the  dry  months  not  only 
the  streets  but  the  air  is  full  of  dust,  for  there  is  usual  Iv 
a  wind  blowing.  But  for  this  dust,  and  for  the  want  of 
proper  drainage  and  a  proper  water-supply,  the  place 
would  be  healthy,  for  the  air  is  dry  and  bracing.  But 
there  had  been  up  to  the  end  of  1895  a  good  deal  of 
typhoid  fever,  and  a  great  deal  of  pneumonia,  often  rap- 
idly fatal.  In  the  latter  part  of  1896  the  mortality  was  as 
high  as  58  per  thousand. 

It  is  a  striking  contrast  to  pass  from  the  business  part 
of  the  town  to  the  pretty  suburb  which  lies  to  the  north- 


TUKUUGH   NATAL  TU   THE  THANSV.V^VL 


ol7 


east  iiudcr  the  steep  ridjjfe  of  the  Witwatersraud,  wliere 
the  wealthier  residents  have  ereeted  eharmiiig  villas  and 
surrounded  them  with  groves  and  gardens.  Less  pretty, 
but  far  more  striking,  is  the  situation  of  a  few  of  the 
outlying  country  houses  which  have  been  built  to  the 
north,  on  the  rocky  toj)  or  along  the  northern  slope  (tf 
the  same  ridge.  These  have  a  noble  prospect  over  thirty 
or  forty  miles  of  rolling  country  to  the  distant  Magalies- 
berg.  East  and  west  the  horizon  is  closed  by  long 
ranges  of  blue  hills,  while,  beneath,  some  large  plantations 
of  trees,  and  fields  cultivated  by  irrigation,  give  to  the 
landscape  a  greenness  rare  in  this  arid  land.  Standing 
on  this  lonely  height  and  looking  far  away  toward  the 
Limpopo  and  Beciiuanaland,  it  is  hard  to  believe  that 
such  a  center  of  restless  and  strenuous  life  as  Johannes- 
burg is  so  near  at  hand.  The  pros[)ect  is  one  of  the 
finest  in  this  part  of  Africa;  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  a 
tract  on  these  breezy  heights  will,  before  building  has 
spread  further,  be  acquired  by  the  town  as  a  public  park. 
Though  in  its  general  aspect  Johannesburg  comes 
nearer  to  one  of  the  new  mining  cities  of  western 
America  than  to  any  place  in  Europe,  yet  in  many  points 
it  is  more  English  than  American,  as  it  is  far  more 
English  than  Dutch.  Indeed,  there  is  nothing  to  remind 
the  traveler  that  he  is  in  a  Dutch  country  except  the 
Dutch  names  of  the  streets  on  some  of  the  street  corners. 
The  population  —  very  mixed,  for  there  are  Germans, 
Italians,  and  French,  as  well  as  some  natives  of  India — 
is  practically  English-speaking,  for  next  in  number  to  the 
colonial  English  and  the  recent  immigrants  from  Great 
Britain  come  the  Australians  and  the  Americans,  who  are 
for  all  social  purposes  practically  English.  It  is  a  busy, 
eager,  restless,  pleasure-loving  town,  making  money  fast 


11^ 


^ 


'/ 


c.j 

1! 

(J 


I     i 


t!:';l 


|J 


ii 


iUS 


IMI'KHSSIOXS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


\ 


J! 


i>] 


and  si)oiuliiJ<]f  it  lavishly,  and  filled  from  end  to  end  wltli 
the  feve.  of  mining  specnlation.  This  pursuit  eoiu-en- 
trates  itself  in  ()nes[»ot  where  two  of  the  prineipal  streets 
meet,  and  where  a  part  of  one  of  them  is  ineh)sed  within 
low  chains,  so  as  to  make  a  sort  of  inclosure,  in  which 
those  who  tralHe  in  {^old  shares  meet  to  buy  and  sell. 


li 


Between  the  ehaiiif 


the  local 


for  the 


n- 


-mar 


)ression 

a  sensitive  and  un- 
stable market  it  is.  It  had  been  boominj^  for  most  of  the 
year,  and  many  stocks  stood  far  too  hijjjli.  But  while  we 
were  there  what  is  called  a  '*  slump  "  occurred,  and  it  was 
pretty  to  study  the  phenomenon  on  the  countenances  be- 
tween the  chains. 

The  i)assion  of  the  people  for  sport,  and  especially  for 
racing?,  is  characteristically  English,  as  is  also  the  interest 
in  theaters  and  other  kinds  of  public  amusement.  The 
gambling-saloon  is  less  conspicuous  than  in  Transatlantic 
mining-camps,  and  there  are  far  fc  breaches  of  public 
order.  Decorum  is  not  alwavs  ma  ,  'Cu.  When  I  was 
there,  a  bout  of  fisticuffs  occurrea  oetween  the  ex-head 
of  the  town  x>olice  and  his  recently  appointed  successor, 
and  the  prowess  of  the  former  delighted  a  large  ring  of 
English  spectators  who  gathered  round  the  combatants. 
But  one  hears  of  no  shootings  or  lynchings;  and  con- 
sidering the  large  number  of  bad  characters  who  natu- 
rally congregate  at  places  of  this  kind,  it  was  surprising 
that  the  excess  of  crime  over  other  South  African  towns 
(in  which  there  is  very  little  crime  among  the  whites) 
should  not  have  been  larger.  Partly,  perhaps,  because  the 
country  is  far  from  Europe,  the  element  of  mere  roughs 
and  rowdies,  of  scalawags,  hoodlums,  and  larrikins,  is 
comparatively  small,  and  the  proportion  of  educated  men 
unusually  large.  The  best  society  of  the  place  —  of  course 


F!:  ' 


^' 


TllliOUUII   NATAL  TO  THE  TRANSVAAL 


3U) 


IS 


not  very  mimeiutus  —  is  cultivated  and  ap^ropaldi'.  It  con- 
sists ot  .nen  of  En^lisli  or  Anfj^lo-Jcwish  race — including 
Cape  Colonists  and  Americans,  with  a  few  (Jerrnans, 
mostly  of  Jewish  origin.  I  should  conjecture  the  Enjr- 
lish  and  colonial  element  to  conjpose  seven  tenths  of  the 

•ican 


white  population,  the  Anu'r 


and  (rcrnian  about  one 


tenth  each,  while  Frenchmen  and  other  Kuroi)eaii  nations 
make  up  the  residue.  There  are  hardly  any  Hoers  or 
Hollanders,  except  government  otlicials ;  and  one  feels 
one's  self  all  the  time  in  an  English,  that  is  to  say,  an 
Anglo-Semitic  town.  Though  there  are  4r),000  Kafh-s, 
not  numy  are  to  be  seen  about  the  streets.  The  Boer 
farmers  of  the  neighborhood  drive  their  wagons  in  every 
morning,  laden  with  vegetables.  But  there  are  so  few  of 
the  native  citizens  of  the  South  Afri(!an  Republic  resident 
in  this  its  largest  town  that  the  traveler  cannot  help  fan- 
cying himself  in  the  Colony  ;  and  it  was  only  natural  that 
the  English-speaking  people,  although  newcomers,  should 
feel  the  place  to  be  virtually  theirs. 

(Ireat  is  the  change  when  one  passes  from  the  busy 
Johannesburg  to  the  sleepy  Pretoria,  the  j)olitical  capital 
of  the  country,  laid  out  forty-three  years  ago,  and  made 
the  seat  of  govan'nmeut  in  1863.  The  little  town  —  it  has 
about  12,000  inhabitants,  two  thirds  of  whom  are  whites 
—  lies  in  a  warm  and  well-watered  valley  about  thirty 
miles  north-northeast  of  Johannesburg.  The  gum-trees 
and  willows  that  have  grown  up  sv;iftly  in  the  gardens 
and  along  the  avenues  embower  it:  and  the  views  over 
the  valley  from  the  low  hills  —  most  of  them  now  (since 
the  middle  of  1896)  crowned  by  batteries  of  cannon  —  that 
rise  above  the  suburbs  are  pleasing.  But  it  has  neither 
the  superb  panoramic  views  nor  the  sense  of  abounding 
wealth  and  strenuous  life  that  make  Johannesburg  strik- 


» 


I 


'I 


'  '''  ii 


I" 

!  1 


l> '  II 


I 


,M20 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


'It: 


nifr 


■I 


!,  ^ 


Rl  'f, 


1  I 


, 


TIh^  strt'i'ts  are  wide,  jiud  after  rain  so  imuldy  as 
to  be  almost  impassable;  the  houses  irrejj^ular,  yet  seldom 
])ietures(iiie.  Nothiiifj:  eould  be  less  beautiful  thau  the 
}»ij,'  I)ut(!h  ehureh,  whieh  oeeupies  the  V»est  situation,  in 
the  middle  of  the  tnarkct  s(]uare.  There  is,  however,  one 
stately  and  even  sumptuous  buildinjr,  that  whieh  contains 
th(MfOvernment  Ofliees  and  ehambers  of  the  lej^islature. 
It  is  said  to  have  cost  £200,000  ($1,000,000).  The  room 
in  whieh  the  Volksraad  (i.e.,  the  First  or  chief  Volksraad) 
meets  is  spacious  and  handsome.  It  interests  the  visitor 
to  note  that  on  the  rijfht  hand  of  the  chair  of  tiie  i)resid- 
ine  officer  there  is  another  chair,  on  the  same  level,  for 
the  president  of  the  Republic,  while  to  the  right  there 
are  seats  for  the  five  members  of  the  Executive  Council, 
and  to  the  left  Ave  others  for  the  heads  of  the  adminis- 
trative departments,  though  none  of  these  eleven  is  a 
meuibcr  of  the  Kaad. 

We  had  expected  to  fiiul  Pretoria  as  Dutch  as  Johannes- 
burg is  English.  But  although  there  is  a  considerable  Boer 
and  Hollander  population,  and  one  hears  Dutch  largely 
spoken,  the  general  aspect  of  the  town  is  British-colonial ; 
and  the  British-colonial  element  is  conspicuous  and  influen- 
tial. Having  little  trade  and  no  industry,  Pi'etoria  exists 
chiefly  as  the  seat  of  the  adminiotration  and  of  the  courts 
of  law.  Now  the  majority  of  the  bar  are  British-colonials 
from  the  Cape  Colony  or  England.  The  large  interests 
involved  in  the  gold-fields,  and  the  questions  that  arise 
between  the  companies  formed  to  work  them,  give  abun- 
dant scope  for  litigation,  and  one  whole  street,  'iommonly 
known  as  the  Aasvogel&r>est  (Vulture's  Nest),  is  filled  with 
their  offices.  They  and  the  judges,  the  most  distin- 
guished of  whom  are  also  either  colonial  Dutchmen  or 
of  British  origin,  are  the  most  cultivated  and  (except  as 


THROUGH   \ATAL   TO  TIIK  TRANSVAAL 


321 


regards  p()liti<'!il  powj'r)  the  U-ading  wj'ctioii  of  society. 
It  is  a  real  pU-asure  to  tli«'  Kuropran  traveler  to  meet 
so  inanv  al)le  and  well-read  men  as  the  iH'iich  and  bar 
of  Pretoria  «'ontain  ;  and  he  finds  it  odd  that  many  of 
them  shonld  he  exeluded  from  the  franehise  and  most 
of  them  regarded  with  suspicion  by  the  ruling  j)ow»'rs. 
Johannesburg  (with  its  mining  environs)  has  nearly  all 
the  industry  and  wealth,  and  half  the  whole  white  popu- 
lation of  the  Transvaal  —  a  (Mmntry,  be  it  renuunbcred, 
ns  large  as  (Jreat  Britain.  Pretoria  and  the  lonely  coun- 
try to  the  north,  east,  and  west  ^  have  the  rest  of  the 
population  and  all  the  power.  It  is  true  that  Pretoria 
]ias  also  a  good  deal  of  the  intelligence.  Hut  this  intelli- 
gence is  frec^uently  dissociated  from  political  rights. 

President  Kruger  lives  in  a  house  which  the  Republic 
has  presented  to  him,  five  minu'^i^s'  walk  from  the  public 
offices.  It  is  a  long,  low  cottage,  like  an  Indian  bunga- 
low, with  nothing  to  distinguish  it  from  other  dwellings, 
though  the  president  has  a  salary  of  seven  thousand 
pounds  sterling  ($35,000)  a  year,  besides  an  allowance, 
commonly  called  ''  coffee  money,"  to  enable  him  to  defray 
the  expenses  of  hospitality.  Just  opposite  stands  the 
little  chapel  of  the  so-called  Dopper  sect  in  which  he 
occasionally  preaches.  Like  the  Scotch  of  former  days 
(for  Scotland  has  greatly  changed  within  the  last  thirty 
years),  the  Boers  have  generally  taken  more  interest  in 
ecclesiastical  than  in  secular  politics.  A  sharp  contest 
has  raged  among  them  between  the  party  which  desires 
to  be  in  full  communion  with  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church 
of  Cape  Colony  and  the  party  which  prefers  isolation,  dis- 

1  There  are  some  mines  of  gold  and  oo,i\  in  other  parts,  mostly 
on  the  east  side  of  the  country,  with  a  small  industrial  population 
consisting  chiefly  of  recent  immigrants. 

21 


I 


I 


I 


»     ! 


|l 


'H 


I 


322 


IMI'KKSSIONS  OP  SOUTH   AFRICA 


tnistinj^  (it  would  scM»m  unjustly)  tlio  strlet  orthodoxy  of 
timt  church.  The  I)oi)i)ers  tiro  still  more  striuf^eiit  in 
tlicir  '.dhcrcnco  to  Jincient  wjwh.  Whou  I  asked  for  iin  ac- 
count  of  tlu'ir  tenets  I  was  told  that  they  wore  lonj;  waist- 
coats and  refused  to  sin^  hymns.  They  an*  in  fact  old- 
fashioned  Puritans  in  (lojj;matic  heliefs  and  s<Kfial  usaj,'es, 
and,  as  in  the  case  of  the  more  extreme  Puritans  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  their  theological  stringency  is  ac- 
companied by  a  firmness  of  character  which  has  given 
them  a  power  disproportionate  to  their  numbers. 

Quiet  as  Pretoria  is,  the  echoes  of  the  noisy  Rand  are 
heard  in  it,  and  the  Rand  questions  occupy  men's  minds. 
But  outside  Pretoria  the  country  is  lonely  and  silent,  like 
all  other  parts  of  the  Transvaal,  except  the  mining  dis- 
tricts. Here  and  there,  at  long  intervals,  you  come  upon 
a  cluster  of  houses  —  one  can  hardly  call  them  villages. 
If  it  were  not  for  the  mines,  there  woidd  not  be  one 
white  man  to  a  square  mile  over  the  whole  Republic. 


CHAPTER  XIX 


i!' 


THE  OKANCJE  FRLE  STATE 

IN  the  Inst  preceding  elmpter  I  have  carried  the  reiuler 
into  the  Transvaal  tlirough  Natal,  because  this  is  the 
most  interesting  route.  But  most  travclei's  in  fact  enter 
via  Cape  Colony  and  the  Orange  Free  State,  that  Stat(5 
lying  })etween  the  northeastern  frontier  of  tlie  ('Olony 
and  the  southeastern  frontier  of  the  Transvaal.  Of  tiie 
Free  State  there  is  not  much  to  say  ;  but  that  little  needs 
to  be  said,  because  this  republic  is  a  very  important  fac- 
tor in  South  African  politics.  And  before  coming  to  its 
politics,  the  reader  ought  to  learn  s;>niething  o^'  its  i)opu- 
lation.  I  have  already  (Chapter  V)  summarized  its  phys- 
ical features  and  have  referred  (Chapter  XI)  to  the  main 
incidents  in  its  history.  Physically,  there  is  little  to  dis- 
tinguish it  from  the  regions  that  bound  it  to  the  east, 
north,  and  west.  Like  them  it  is  level  or  undulating, 
dry,  and  bare — in  the  main  a  land  of  pasture.  One  con- 
siderable diamond-mine  is  worked  in  the  west,  and  ah»ng 
the  banks  of  the  Caledon  River  there  lies  one  rich  agri- 
cultural district.  But  the  land  under  cultivation  is  less 
than  one  per  cent,  of  the  whole  area.  There  are  no 
manufactures,  and  of  course  very  little  trade ;  so  the 
scanty  population  increases  slowly.    It  is  a  country  of 

323 


M 


1 1 


i     ill 


324 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


li   I 


I)        i 


ii^'V'f; '' 


great  grassy  plains,  brilliantly  t/yfen  and  fresh  after 
rain  has  fallen,  parched  and  duyty  at  other  times,  but 
able  to  support  great  numbers  of  cattle  and  sheep. 
Rare  fai'm-liouses  and  still  rarer  villages  are  scattered 
over  this  wide  expanse,  which  in  the  northeast,  to- 
ward Natal,  rises  into  a  mountainous  region.  The 
natives  (most  of  them  of  Bechuana  stock)  are  nearly 
twice  as  numerous  as  the  whites.  Some  live  on  a  large 
Bai'olong  reservation,  where  they  till  the  soil  and  keep 
their  cattle  iw  their  own  way.  The  rest  are  scattered 
over  the  country,  .mostly  employed  as  herdsmen  to  the 
farmers.  Save  on  the  reservation  they  cannot  own  land 
or  travel  without  a  puss,  and  of  course  ihey  are  not  ad- 
mitted to  the  electoral  franchise.  They  seem,  however, 
to  be  fairly  well  treated,  and  are  perfe^itly  submissive. 
Their  wages  average  thirty  shillings  ($7.50)  a  month. 
Native  labor  has  become  so  scarce  that  no  fanner  is  now 
permitted  to  employ  more  than  twenty-flve.  Of  the 
whites,  fully  two  thirds  are  of  Dutch  origin,  and  Dutch 
is  pretty  generally  spoken.  English,  however,  is  under- 
stood by  most  people,  and  is  the  language  most  com- 
monly used  in  the  larger  villages.  The  two  races  have 
lived  of  late  years  in  perfect  harmony,  for  there  has 
never  been  any  war  between  the  Free  State  and  Great 
Britain.  As  the  tendency  of  the  English  citizens  to  look 
to  Cape  Colony  has  been  checked  by  the  sentiment  of  in- 
dependence which  soon  grew  up  in  this  little  republic, 
and  by  their  attachment  to  ii3  institutions,  so  the  know- 
ledge of  the  Dutch  citizens  that  the  English  element 
entertains  this  sentiment  and  attachment  has  prevented 
the  growth  of  suspicion  among  the  Dutch  and  has 
knitted  the  two  races  into  a  unity  which  is  generally 
cordial.    Nevertheless,  so  much  Dutch  feeling  remains, 


THE  ORANGE  FKEE   STATE 


325 


has 
rally 


that  at  the  recent  election  of  a  pres^ident  the  scale  was 
decisively  turned  in  favor  of  one  out  of  tlie  two  can- 
didates, both  excellent  men,  by  the  fact  that  the  one 
belonged  to  a  Dutch,  the  other  to  a  Scottish  family. 
It  may  be  added  that  the  proximity  of  the  C'olony,  and 
the  presence  of  the  large  English  element,  have  told  favor- 
ably upon  the  Dutch  population  in  the  way  of  stimulating 
their  intelligence  and  modifying  their  conservatism,  while 
not  injuring  those  solid  qualities  which  make  them  ex- 
cellent citizens.  The  desire  for  instruction  is  far  stronger 
among  them  than  it  is  in  the  Tratisvaal.  Indeed,  there 
is  no  part  of  South  Africa  where  education  is  more  valued 
and  more  widelv  diffused. 

The  only  place  that  can  be  called  a  town  is  Bloemfon- 
tein,  the  seat  of  government,  which  stands  on  the  great 
trunk-line  of  railway  from  Cape  Town  to  Pretoria,  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  the  former  and  two  hundred 
and  ninety  from  the  latter  town.  It  is  what  the  Germans 
call  a  ''freundliches  Stiidtchen,''  a  bright  and  cheerful  little 
place,  with  3300  white  and  2500  black  inhabitants,  nes- 
tling under  a  rocky  kopje,  and  looking  out  over  illimit- 
able plains  to  the  east  and  south.  The  air  is  dry  and 
bracing,  and  said  to  be  especially  beneficial  to  persons 
threatened  with  pulmonary  disease.  As  it  is  one  of  the 
smallest,  so  it  is  one  of  the  neatest  and,  in  a  modest  way, 
best-appointed  capitals  in  the  world.  It  has  a  little  fort, 
originally  built  by  the  British  government,  with  two 
Maxim  guns  in  the  arsenal,  a  Protestant  Episcopal  and 
a  Roman  Catholic  cathedral  as  well  as  Dutch  Reft)rnied 
churches,  all  kinds  of  public  institutions,  a  spacious 
market  square,  with  a  good  club  and  an  excellent  hotel, 
wide  and  well-kept  streets,  gardens  planted  with  trees 
that  are  now  so  tall  as  to  make  the  whole  place  seem  to 

21* 


3'26 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


'U 


**l, 


swim  in  green,  a  national  museum,  and  a  very  handsome 
building  for  the  legislature,  whose  principal  apartment 
is  as  tasteful,  well  lighted,  and  well  arranged  as  any  I 
have  seen  in  any  British  colony  or  American  State.  The 
place  is  extremely  quiet,  and  people  live  very  simply, 
though  not  cheaply,  for  prices  are  high,  and  domestic 
service  so  dear  and  scarce  as  to  be  almost  unprocurable. 
Every  one  is  above  poverty,  but  still  further  removed 
from  wealth.  It  looks,  and  one  is  told  that  it  is,  the  most 
idyllic  community  in  Africa,  worthy  to  be  the  capital  of 
the  most  contented  and  happy  State.  No  great  indus- 
tries have  come  into  the  Free  State  to  raise  economic 
strife.  No  capitalists  tempt  the  virtue  of  legislators,  or 
are  forced  to  buy  off  the  attacks  of  blackmailers.  No 
religious  animosities  divide  Christians,  for  perfect  re- 
ligious freedom  exists.  No  prize  is  offered  to  ambition. 
No  difficulties  as  to  British  suzerainty  exist,  for  the  re- 
public is  absolutely  independent.  No  native  troubles  have 
arisen.  No  political  parties  have  sprung  up.  Taxation 
is  low,  and  there  is  no  public  debt.^  The  arms  of  the 
State  are  a  lion  and  a  lamb  standing  on  opposite  sides 
of  an  orange-tree,  with  the  motto,  "Freedom,  Immigration, 
Patience,  Courage,"  and  though  the  lion  has,  since  1871, 
ceased  to  range  over  the  plains,  his  pacific  attitude  beside 
the  lamb  on  this  device  happily  typifies  the  harmony 
which  exists  between  the  British  and  Dutch  elements, 
and  the  spirit  of  concord  which  the  late  excellent  Presi- 
dent Brand  so  well  infused  into  the  public  life  of  his 
republic.  In  the  Orange  Free  State  I  discovered,  in  1895, 
the  kind  of  republic  which  the  fond  fancy  of  the  philos- 

1  I  am  informed  that  there  is  really  a  debt  of  about  twenty  thou- 
sand pounds,  which  the  State  is  paying  off  by  drawings,  and  would 
pay  off  altogether  at  once  did  not  the  market  price  stand  too  high. 


THE  ORANGE  FREE  STATE 


327 


ophers  of  last  century  painted.  It  was  an  ideal  republic, 
not  in  respect  of  any  special  excellence  in  its  institutions, 
but  because  the  economic  and  social  conditions  which 
have  made  democrac}-  so  far  from  being"  an  unmixed 
success  in  the  American  States  and  in  the  larger  colonies 
of  Britain,  not  to  speak  of  the  peoples  of  Europe,  whether 
ancient  or  modern,  had  not  come  into  existence  here, 
while  the  external  dangers  which  for  a  time  threatened 
the  State  had  vanished  away  like  clouds  into  the  blue. 

Although,  however,  the  political  constitution  of  the 
Free  State  is  not  the  chief  cause  of  the  peace  and  order 
which  the  State  enjoys,  it  may  claim  to  be  well  suited 
to  the  community  whic^i  lives  happily  under  it.  It  is  a 
simple  constitution,  and  embodied  in  a  very  short,  tei'se, 
and  straightforward  instrument  of  sixty-two  articles, 
most  of  them  only  a  few  lines  in  length. 

The  governing  authorities  are  the  President,  the  Ex- 
ecutive Council,  and  the  Volksraad  or  elective  popular 
assembly.  Citizenship  belongs  to  all  white  persons  born 
in  the  State,  or  who  have  resided  in  it  for  three  years  and 
have  made  a  written  promise  of  allegiance,  or  have  resided 
one  year  and  possess  real  property  of  the  value  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds  sterling  ($750),  a  liberality 
which  is  in  marked  contrast  to  the  restrictions  imposed 
upon  newcomers  by  the  laws  of  the  Transvaal.  Tims, 
practically,  all  the  white  inhabitants  are  citizens,  with 
full  rights  of  suffrage — subject  to  some  small  property 
qualifications  for  newcomers  wliich  it  is  hardly  worth 
while  to  enumerate. 

The  President  is  elected  by  the  citizens  for  five  years 
and  is  reeligible.  He  can  sit  and  speak  but  cannot  vote 
in  the  Volksraad,  is  responsible  to  it,  and  has  the  general 
control  of  the  administration. 


Mil 
i 


i 


328 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   ^OUTH   AFRICA 


ll  • 


ftp 
I.) 

!    t 


\ 

» 

j,  ^ 

.  1  : 

>i 


H 


i\  >A 


'  fi 


The  Executive  Council  consists  of  five  members  —  be- 
sides the  President  —  viz.,  the  State  Secretary  and  the 
Magistrate  of  Bloemfontein,  both  of  whom  are  appointed 
by  the  President  and  confirmed  by  the  Volksraad,  and 
three  other  niembers  chosen  bv  the  Volksraad.  It  is 
associated  with  the  President  lor  divers  purposes,  but 
has  not  proved  to  be  an  important  or  influential  body. 

The  Volksraad  is  elected  by  all  the  citizens  for  four 
years,  half  of  the  members  retiring  every  two  years.  It 
has  only  one  chamber,  in  which  there  sit  at  present  fifty- 
eight  members.  It  is  the  supreme  legislative  authority^ 
meeting  annually,  and  in  extra  sessions  when  summoned, 
and  its  consent  is  required  to  the  making  of  treaties 
and  to  a  declaration  of  war.  The  President  has  no  veto 
on  its  acts,  and  the  heads  of  the  executive  departments 
do  not  sit  in  it. 

The  obligation  of  military  service  is  universal  on  all 
citizens  between  the  ages  of  sixteen  and  sixty. 

The  constitution  can  be  altered  by  the  Volksraad,  but 
only  by  a  three-fourths  majority  in  two  consecutive  an- 
nual sessions.  It  is  therefore  a  rigid  constitution,  like 
that  of  the  United  States  and  that  of  Switzerland. 

This  simple  scheme  of  government  seems  calculated  to 
throw  nearly  all  power  into  the  hands  of  the  legislature, 
leaving  the  President  comparatively  weak.  Nevertheless, 
in  point  of  fact  the  Presidents  have  been  very  important 
figures,  partly,  perhaps,  because  an  there  have  been  no  par- 
ties in  the  legislature,  there  have  been  no  party  leaders. 
From  1863  till  his  death  in  1888,  the  whole  policy  of  the 
State  was  guided  by  President  Brand,  a  lawyer  from 
Cape  Colony,  whom  the  people  elected  for  five  successive 
terms.  His  power  of  sitting  in  and  addressing  the  Volks- 
raad proved  to  be  of  the  utmost  value,  for  his  judgment 
and  patriotism  inspired  perfect  confidence.   His  successor, 


THE  ORANGE  FREE  STATE 


320 


who  at  the  time  of  my  visit  (November,  1895)  had  just 
been  obliged  by  ill  health  to  retire  from  office,  enjoyed 
equal  respect,  and,  when  he  chose  to  exert  it,  almost  equal 
influence  with  the  legislature,  and  things  went  smoothly 
under  him.  I  gather  that  the  new  President,  elected  in 
189G,  is  similarly  respected  and  likely  to  enjoy  similar 
weight.  So  the  Speaker  of  the  legislature  has  been  an  in- 
fluential person,  because  his  office  devolves  functions  on 
him  which  the  absence  of  a  cabinet  makes  important. 
The  fact  is  that  in  every  government,  individual  men 
are  the  chief  factors,  and  if  the  course  of  things  is  such 
that  the  legishit«re  does  not  ])ec<)me  divided  into  jiarties 
and  is  not  called  on  to  })rodu(*e  conspicuous  leaders,  gen- 
eral leadership  will  fall  to  the  executive  head  if  he  is  fit 
to  assume  it,  and  legislative  leadership  to  the  chairman 
of  the  Assembly.  Were  questions  to  arise  sj»litting  u[> 
the  ])eople  and  the  legislature  into  factions,  the  situation 
would  change  at  once.  Oratorical  gifts  and  legislative 
strategy  would  become?  valuable,  and  the  I'resident  or  the 
Speaker  might  be  obscured  by  the  chiefs  of  the  iiarties. 

The  people  of  the  Free  State  are  well  satisfied  with 
their  constitution,  and  show  little  disposition  to  alter  it. 
Some  of  the  wisest  heads,  however,  told  me  that  they 
thought  two  improvements  were  needed :  a  provision 
that  amendments  to  the  constitution,  after  having  passed 
the  Volksraad,  should  be  voted  on  by  the  people  (as  in 
the  Swiss  Referendum),  and  a  provision  securing  to  the 
judges  their  salaries,  and  their  independence  of  the  Volks- 
raad.^ It  is  interesting  to  notice  that  both  here  and  in 
the  Transvaal  the  gravest  constitutional  ({uestions  that 
have  arisen  turn  on  the  relations  between  the  legislative 
and  the  judicial  departments.     Some  years  ago  the  Free 

1  Proposals  for  umeiidmeut  are  now  (Jan.  1898)  under  discussion. 
[Note  to  second  edition.] 


??.' 


330 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


u 


;  i 


.  i> 


ll'tf 


State  Volksraad  claimed  the  right  to  commit  a  person  to 
prison  for  contempt,  and  to  direct  the  State  attorney  to 
prosecute  him.  The  judges  felt  bound  to  resist  what  they 
thought  an  unconstitutional  stretch  of  power  by  the  liaad. 
At  first  they  seemed  likely  to  be  defeated,  but  by  using 
their  opportunities  of  charging  juries  to  insist  on  their 
views  they  brought  public  opinion  round  to  their  side,  and 
the  Raad  ultimately  retired  from  the  position  it  had  taken 
up,  leaving  the  question  of  right  undetermined.  It  has 
never  been  definitely  settled  whether  the  courts  of  law 
are  (as  in  the  United  States)  the  authorized  interpreters 
of  the  constitution,  though  upon  principle  it  would  seem 
that  tliey  are.  These  South  African  constitutions  were 
drafted  by  simph^  men  in  an  unteehnical  way,  so  that 
many  legal  points  obvious  to  the  minds  of  American 
lawvers  were  left  untouched,  and  have  now  to  be  settled 
either  on  principle  or  according  to  the  will  of  what  may 
happen  to  be  the  predominant  power  for  the  time  being. 
It  is,  perhaps,  better  that  they  should  remain  in  abeyance 
until  public  opinion  has  grown  more  instructed  and  has 
had  fuller  opportunities  of  considering  them. 

Small  as  is  the  white  population  of  the  Orange  Free 
State,  its  geographical  position  and  the  high  average 
quality  of  its  citizens  secure  for  it  a  position  of  great 
significance  in  South  African  politics;  and  the  attitude 
it  might  take  would  be  an  important  factor  in  any  dis- 
pute between  the  British  government  and  the  Transvaal 
Republic.  To  this  subject  I  may  have  occasion  presently 
to  return.  Meanwhile  I  pass  on  to  describe  the  native 
state  which  lies  nearest  to  it,  which  has  been  most  closely 
connected  with  its  fortunes,  and  which  furnishes  in  some 
respects  an  interesting  parallel  to  it,  having  been  of  late 
years  the  most  quiet  and  contented  among  native  com- 
munities. 


CHAPTER  XX 


BASUTOLAND 


. 


BASUTOLAND  is  a  comparatively  small  territory 
(10,300  square  miles)  somewhat  larger  than  Wales 
or  Massachusetts.  It  is  nearly  all  mountainous,  and  eon- 
tains  the  hij<hest  summits  in  South  Africa,  some  of  them 
reachinj^  11,000  feet.  Few  European  travelers  visit  it, 
for  it  lies  quite  away  from  the  main  routes,  it  has  no 
commercial  importance,  and  its  white  population  is  ex- 
tremely small,  the  land  being  reserved,  for  the  natives 
alone.  We  were  attracted  to  it  by  what  we  had  heard 
of  the  scenery;  but  found,  wh^n  we  ea  le  to  traverse  it, 
that  the  soci.-J  conditions  were  no  less  interesting  than 
the  landscapes. 

The  easiest  approach  is  from  Bloemfontein.  Starting 
from  that  pleasant  little  town  one  bright  November  morn- 
ing on  the  top  of  the  Ladybrand  coach,  we  drove  over  wide 
and  nearly  level  stretches  of  pasture-land,  which  now,  after 
the  first  rains,  were  vividly  green,  and  beginning  to  be 
dotted  with  flowers.  T)ie  road  was  onlv  a  track,  usnallv 
rough  and  full  of  rut;s,  and  the  coach  was  an  old  one, 
whose  springs  had  lost  whatever  elasticity  they  might  once 
have  possessed,  so  that  it  was  only  by  holding  tight  on 
to  the  little  rail  at  the  back  of  the  seat  that  we  could 

331 


'j-' 


i 


332 


IMPHESSIOXS  OF   SOUTH    AFKICA 


I     I 


,<i 


;i    i    ! 


keep  our  places.  The  iiures.sant  pitcliiiig  and  jolting 
would  have  been  intolerable  oi  an  ordinary  drive ;  but 
here  the  beauty  of  the  vast  landscape,  the  keen  fresh- 
ness of  the  air,  and  the  brillianee  of  the  light  made  one 
forget  every  physical  discomfort.  About  noon,  after 
crossing  the  muddy  flood  of  the  Modder  River,  whose 
channel,  almost  dry  a  month  before,  had  now  been  filled 
by  the  rains,  we  entered  a  more  hilly  region,  and  came 
soon  after  noon  to  the  village  of  Thaba  'Ntshu,  called 
from  the  bold  rocky  peak  of  that  name,  which  is  a  land- 
mark for  all  the  country  round,  and  is  famous  in  history 
as  the  rallying-point  of  the  various  parties  of  emigrant 
Boers  who  quitted  Cape  Colony  in  the  Great  Trek  of 
1836-'37.  Near  it  is  a  large  native  reservation,  where 
thousands  of  Baroloug  Kafirs  live,  tilling  the  better  bits 
of  soil,  and  grazing  their  (tattle  all  over  the  rolling  pas- 
tures. Some  ten  or  fifteen  miles  farther  the  track  reaches 
the  top  of  a  long  ascent,  and  a  magnificent  prospect  is  re- 
vealed to  the  southeast  of  the  noble  range  of  the  Maluti 
Mountains,  standing  out  in  the  dazzling  clearness  of  this 
dry  African  air,  yet  mellowed  by  distance  to  tints  of 
delicate  beauty.  We  were  reminded  of  the  view  of  the 
Pyrenees  from  Pau,  where,  however,  the  mountains  are 
rather  higher  above  the  observer  than  here,  and  of  the 
view  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  from  Calgary,  on  the  Cana- 
dian Pacific  Railway.  From  this  point  onward  the  road 
mounts  successive  ridges,  between  which  lie  rich  hollows 
of  agricultural  land,  and  from  the  tops  of  which  nearer 
and  nearer  views  of  the  Maluti  range  are  gained.  There 
was  hardly  a  tree  visible,  save  those  which  Europeans 
have  planted  round  the  farm-houses  that  one  finds  every 
seven  or  eight  miles ;  and  I  dare  say  the  country  would 
be  dreary  in  the  dry  season  or  in  dull  gray  weather.  But 
as  we  saw  it,  the  wealth  of  sunlight,  the  blue  of  the  sky 


BASUTOLAND 


33;J 


above,  the  boundless  stretches  of  verdure  beneatli,  made 
the  drive  a  dream  of  delij^ht.  When  the  sun  sank  th<' 
constellations  eame  out  in  this  pure,  dry  African  air  witli 
a  brilliance  unknown  to  Europe ;  and  we  tired  our  eyes 
in  gazinj^  on  the  Centaur  and  the  Argo  and  those  two 
Magellanic  chmds  by  which  one  finds  the  position  of  tl»e 
southern  pole.  Soon  after  dark  we  came  to  the  toj)  of 
the  last  high  hill,  and  saw  what  Sv.'emed  an  abyss  open- 
ing beneath.  The  descent  was  steep,  but  a  beaten  track 
led  down  it,  reputed  the  inst  dangerous  j»iece  of  road  in 
the  Free  State  j  and  the  driver  regaled  us  with  narra- 
tives of  the  accidents  that  had  taken  place  on  the  fre- 
quent occasions  when  the  coach  had  been  upset,  add- 
ing, however,  that  nobody  had  ever  been  or  would  be 
killed  while  he  held  the  reins.  He  proved  as  good  as  his 
word,  and  brought  us  safely  to  Ladybrand  at  9  p.  :m.,  after 
more  than  twelve  hours  of  a  drive  so  fatiguing  that  oidy 
the  nnirvelously  bracing  air  enabled  us  to  feel  none  the 
worse  for  it. 

Ladybrand  is  a  pretty  little  hamlet  lying  at  the  foot 
of  the  great  flat-topped  hill,  called  the  Plaat  Berg,  which 
the  perilous  road  crosses,  and  looking  out  from  groves  of 
Australian  gum-trees,  across  fertile  corn-fields  and  mea- 
dows, to  the  Caledon  River  and  the  ranges  of  Basutoland. 
A  ride  of  eight  miles  brings  one  to  the  ferry  (which  in  the 
dry  season  becomes  a  shallow  ford)  across  this  stream, 
and  on  the  farther  shore  one  is  again  under  the  British 
flag  at  Maseru,  the  residence  of  the  imperial  commis- 
sioner who  supervises  the  administraticm  of  the  country. 
Here  are  some  sixty  Europeans — officials,  police,  and  store- 
keepers— and  more  than  two  thousand  natives.  Neither 
here  nor  anywhere  else  in  Basutoland  is  there  an  inn ; 
those  few  persons  who  visit  the  country  find  quarters  in 
the  stores  which  several  whites  have  been  permitted  to 


II! 


'.rif 


)' 


ii'Ji 


IMI'UKSHIOXS  OF   SOUTH   Al'UICA 


t'    ! 


establish,  unless  they  liavo,  ns  wo  lia<l,  the  ^ood  fortnnf 
to  be  the  quests  of  the  ConniiissioiK!!'  and  the  missionaries. 
Hasutoland  is  tin;  Switzerland  of  South  Africa,  and, 
very  appropriately,  is  the  part  of  South  Afriea  where  tlu; 
old  inhabitants,  defended  by  their  hills,  liaV''  liined  the 
larp'st  measure  of  frecrdom.  Although  mc  of  it  is  cov- 
ered with  lofty  mountains,  it  has,  like  Switzerhmd,  owe 
comparatively  level  and  fertile  tract  —  that  which  lies 
along  the  left  bank  of  the  Caledon  Kiver.  jNIorija,  the 
oldest  French  mission  station,  lies  in  a  pretty  hoHow 
between  five  and  six  thousand  feet  above  the  sea, — 
nearly  all  Basutoland  is  above  oOOO  feet, —  some  sixteen 
miles  southeast  from  Maseru.  Groves  of  trees  and  Inxu- 
riant  gardens  give  softness  and  verdure  to  the  landscape, 
and  among  them  the  mission  houses  and  schools,  and  print- 
ing-house whence  Basuto  books  are  issued,  lie  scattered 
about,  up  and  down  the  slopes  of  the  hill.  Though  there 
are  plenty  of  streams  in  Basutoland,  there  is  hardly  any 
swampy  ground,  and  consequently  little  or  no  fevei,  so 
the  missionaries  invalided  from  the  Zambesi  frecpiently 
come  liere  to  recruit.  Morija  is  now,  and  has  been  for 
many  years  past,  in  the  hands  of  Scottish  Presbyterian 
clergymen,  of  course  under  the  direction  of  the  Paris 
Society,  and  they  gave  us  a  hearty  welcome.  They  have 
large  and  flourishing  schools,  from  which  a  considerable 
number  of  young  Kafirs  go  out  every  year  among  their 
countrymen  and  become  an  effective  civilizing  influence. 
There  is  among  the  Bantu  tribes  so  little  religion,  in  the 
European  sense  of  the  word,  that  the  natives  seem  never 
to  have  felt  the  impulse  to  persecute,  and  hardly  ever  to 
obstruct  the  preaching  of  Christicinity.  When  opposition 
comes,  it  comes  from  the  witch-doctor  or  medicine-man, 
who  feels  his  craft  in  danger,  seldom  from  the  chief. 


i.|( 


BASUTOLAND 


yu5 


'I 


JIltc  most  (»f  tlic  It'udiiij^'  inni  Imvc  lierii  uiul  still  uro 
oil  j^ood  terms  with  the  missiomuu's.  Tin's  raramoiiiit 
Cliiot'  of  the  whole  coiiiitry  lives  three  miles  from  ^lorija, 
lit  Miitsieu^,  where  he  has  estahlished,  as  the  wont  of  tho 
Kalirs  is,  a  new  kraal  on  tlie  top  of  a  bree/y  hill,  forsak- 
ing^ the  residence  of  his  father  in  the  valley  beneath. 
Here  wc  visited  him. 

licrothodi,  the  Paramount  Chief,  is  the  son  of  Letsie 
and  j^M'andson  of  Moshesh,  and  now  ranks  with  Khama 
as  the  most  important  native  i)otentate  south  of  the 
Zambesi.  He  is  a  strong,  thiek-set  num,  who  h)oivs  about 
fifty  years  of  ii^v,  and  is  not  wantinj^  either  in  intelli- 
^(.'uee  or  in  firmness.  He  was  dressed  in  a  jj^ray  shoot- 
in«>:-eoat  and  trousers  of  j?ray  cloth,  with  a  neat  new 
l)lack,  low-crowned  hat,  and  received  the  (deputy)  aetiu}^ 
Commissioner  and  ourselves  in  a  stout;  hous(;  which  he 
has  recently  built  as  a  sort  of  council-chamber  and  re- 
cei)tion-rooni  for  w'hite  visitors.  Hard  by,  another  house, 
also  of  stone,  was  being  erected  to  lodge  s  eh  visitors, 
and  over  its  doorway  a  native  sculptor  had  carved  tho 
figure  of  a  crocodile,  the  totem  of  the  Basutos.  When  a 
cluef  sits  to  administer  justice  among  the  tril)esmen,  as 
he  does  on  most  mornings,  he  always  sits  in  the  open  air, 
a  little  way  from  his  sleei)ing-liuts.  We  found  a  crowd  of 
natives  gathered  at  the  levee,  whom  Lerotliodi  ([uitted  to 
lead  us  into  the  reception-room.  He  was  accomi)anied 
by  six  or  seven  magnates  and  counselors, —  one  of  the 
most  trusted  counselors  (a  Christian)  was  not  a  person  of 
rank,  but  owed  his  influence  to  his  character  and  talents, 
—  and  among  these  one  spoke  English  and  interpreted  to 
us  the  compliments  which  Lerothodi  delivered,  together 
with  his  assurances  of  friendship  and  respect  for  the 
Protecting  Power,  while  we  responded  with  phrases  of 


I 


I 


M 

!li' 


'  J 

t      I 

1" 
i 

ill 
I 


i, 


I' 


336 


IMI'KKMHIONS  OF   SOUTH    AI'KKA 


IJ 


k  i  ^ 


;'» 


■  t 


siiiiihir  t'rieiidlua'.ss.  Tlit*  couiiHelorM,  listciiiiijr  with  pro- 
t'oiiiul  and  iiMpn'.ssivt!  gravity,  t'choed  the  s('iiteiu't!.s  of 
the  i'h'wt  vvitli  u  chonis  of  '*  rlis/'  a  sound  which  it  is  hard 
to  rcproihuM'  by  It'tters,  for  it  is  a  h>ii^,  slow,  deep  t-xpira- 
tioii  of  tlio  hroath  iu  a  sort  of  siiij^iii^  tiiiu'.  The  Katlrs 
(Mnistaiitly  use  it  to  express  assoiit  and  appreciation,  and 
niana^^e  to  throw  a  ^■reat  deal  of  apparent  feeling  into  it. 
Presently  one  or  two  of  them  s})oke,  one  in  pretty  jjjood 
Enji^lish,  dilating  on  the  wish  of  the  Hasuto  *  native  to  be 
guided  in  the  path  of  prosperity  by  the  British  govern- 
ment. Tlien  Lerothodi  led  us  out  and  showed  rs,  with 
some  pride,  the  new  guest-house  he  was  building,  and  the 
huts  inhabited  by  his  wives,  all  serupulously  neat.  Each 
hut  stands  in  an  inelosure  surrounded  by  a  tall  fenee  of 
n^eds,  and  the  floors  of  red  clay  were  perfectly  hard, 
smooth,  and  spotlessly  clean.  The  news  of  the  reception 
acM'orded  shortly  before  (in  London)  to  Khanui  had  kin- 
dled in  him  a  desire  to  visit  England,  but  his  hints  thrown 
out  to  that  effect  were  met  by  the  Acting  Commissioner's 
renuu'k  that  Kham  /s  total  abstinence  and  general  hos- 
tility to  the  use  of  intoxicants  had  been  a  main  cause  for 
the  welcome  given  him,  and  that  if  other  chiefs  desired 
like  treatment  in  England  they  had  better  emulate 
Khama.     This  shot  went  home. 

From  the  chiefs  kraal  we  had  a  delightful  ride  of 
some  twenty  miles  to  a  spot  near  the  foot  of  the  high 
mountains,  where  we  camped  for  the  night.  The  track 
leads  along  the  base  of  the  Maluti  range,  sometimes  over 
a  rolling  table-land,  sometimes  over  hills  and  down 
through  valleys,  all   either  cultivated  or  covered  with 

1  The  word  **  Ba  Sot'ho  "  is  in  strictness  used  for  the  people,  "  Se 
Sot'ho"  for  the  language,  "Le  Sot'ho"  for  the  country  ;  hut  in  Eng- 
lish it  is  more  convenient  to  apply  "Basuto"  to  all  three. 


M, 


't 


HASlTohANI) 


:»:»7 


fn'sli  close  {^mss.  The  Malulis  consist  of  beds  of  shimI- 
«tonc  and  shale,  overlaid  hy  an  outflow  of  igneous  rock 
from  two  to  five  thousand  feet  tliick.  They  rise  very 
steeply,  sonietiiues  hreakin^^  into  loii^  lines  of  dark- 
br(»wn  |)re«'i|)ic»',  and  the  crest  seldom  siuks  lower  than 
7()0()  feet.  Hehind  them  to  the  soiithi-ast  are  the  water- 
falls, one  of  which,  (i.'U)  feet  hi^^h,  is  described  as  tin? 
j^randest  cascade  in  Afri«'a  south  of  the  Zandu'si.  It 
was  only  two  days'  journey  away,  but  unfortunately  we 
had  not  the  tinie  to  visit  it. 

The  country  we  wore  traversing  beneath  the  mountains 
was  full  of  beauty,  .so  «;racefid  were  tin;  slopes  and  rolls 
of  the  hills,  so  bri<::ht  the  tfreen  of  the  pastures ;  while  the 
sky,  tliis  bein^  the  rainy  .season,  had  a  soft  tone  like  that 
of  Enj^land,  and  was  tle(!ked  with  white  clouds  sailinj^ 
across  the  blue.  It  was  also  a  prosperous-lookinj^  coun- 
try, for  the  rich  .soil  su{)ported  many  villages,  and  many 
natives,  men  as  well  as  women,  were  to  be  seen  at  work 
in  the  fields  as  we  rode  by.  Ex<*ept  where  streams  have 
cut  deeply  into  the  soft  earth,  one  gets  about  easily  on 
horsel)ack,  for  there  are  no  woods  save  a  little  scrub 
clinging  to  the  sides  of  the  steeper  gleiis.  We  wen;  told 
that  the  goats  eat  off  the  young  trees,  and  that  the 
natives  have  used  the  older  ones  for  fuel.  In  th(^  aftei*- 
noon  we  passed  St.  Micdniel's,  the  seat  of  a  flourishing 
Roman  Catholic  missicm,  and  took  our  way  uj)  the  steep 
and  stony  track  of  a  kloof  (ravine)  which  led  to  a  plateau 
some  6000  feet  or  more  above  sea-level.  The  soil  of  this 
plateau  is  a  deep-red  loam,  formed  by  the  decomj)osi- 
tion  of  the  trap-rock,  and  is  of  exceptional  fertility,  like 
the  decompcsed  traps  of  Oregon  and  of  the  Deecan. 
Here  we  pitched  our  tent,  and  found  our  liberal  su[)ply  of 
blankets  none  too  liberal,  for  the  oil  was  keen,  and  the 

22 


n\ 


1 1 


W' 


n 


i'i 


■i 

-i; 


h 


338 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


/    I 


difference  between  day  and  night  temperature  is  great  in 
these  hxtitudes.  Next  morning,  starting  soon  after  dawn, 
we  rode  across  the  deep-cut  beds  of  streams  and  over 
breezy  pastures  for  some  six  or  seven  miles,  to  the  base  of 
the  main  Mahiti  range,  and  after  a  second  l)reakfast  pi'e- 
pared  for  the  ascent  of  tlie  great  summit,  whicli  we  had 
been  admiring  for  two  days  as  it  towered  over  the  long 
line  of  peaks  or  peered  alone  from  the  mists  which  often 
enveloped  the  rest  of  the  range.  It  is  called  Machacha, 
and  is  a  conspicuous  object  from  Ladybrand  and  the 
Free  State  uplands  nearly  Jis  far  as  Thaba  'Xtshu.  Our 
route  lay  np  a  grassy  hollow  so  steep  that  we  had  thought 
our  friend,  the  deputy  Acting  Commissioner,  must  be  jest- 
ing when  he  pointed  up  it  and  told  us  that  was  the  way 
we  had  to  ride.  For  a  pedestrian  it  was  a  piece  of  hand- 
and-foot  climbing,  and  seemed  impossible  for  horses.  But 
up  the  horses  went.  They  are  a  wonderful  breed,  these 
little  Basuto  nags.  This  region  is  the  part  of  South 
Africa  where  the  horse  seems  most  thoroughly  at  home 
and  happy,  and  is  the  only  part  where  the  natives  breed 
and  ride  him.  Sixty  years  ago  there  was  not  a  horse  in 
the  country  —  the  animal,  it  need  hardly  be  said,  is  not  a 
native  of  South  Africa.  But  by  1852,  the  Basutos  had 
plenty  of  ponies,  and  used  them  in  the  short  campaign  of 
that  year  with  extraordinary  effect.  They  are  snuill, 
seldom  exceeding  twelve  hands  in  height,  a  little  larger 
than  the  ponies  of  Iceland,  very  hardy,  and  wonderfully 
clever  on  hills,  able  not  only  to  mount  a  slope  whose 
angle  is  30"^  to  35°,  but  to  keep  their  footing  when  ridden 
horizontally  along  it.  A  rider  new  to  the  country  finds 
it  hard  not  to  slip  off  over  the  tail  when  the  animal  is 
ascending,  or  over  the  head  when  he  is  descending. 
The  hollow  brought  us  to  a  col  fully  7500  feet  above 


«:r 


Wi 


BASUTOLAND 


339 


the  sea,  from  wliieh  we  descended  some  way  int(>  a  valley 
behind,  ami  then  rode  for  three  or  four  miles  along  the 
steep  sides,  gradually  mounting,  and  having  below  us 
on  the  riglit  a  deep  glen,  covered  everywhere  with  rich 
grass,  and  from  the  depths  of  whieh  the  murmur  of  a 
rushing  stream,  a  sound  rare  in  South  Africa,  rose  up 
softly  through  the  clear,  still  air.  At  length  we  reached 
the  mountain  crest,  and  after  following  it  for  a  spaci', 
and  then,  to  avoid  the  'jrags  along  the  crest,  guiding  our 
horses  across  the  extremely  steep  declivities  by  which 
it  falls  to  the  east,  came  to  a  pass  between  precipices, 
with  a  sharp  rock  towering  up  in  the  middle  of  it  and 
a  glen  falling  abruptly  to  the  w^est.  Beyond  this  point 
—  S.IOO  feet  or  so  above  sea-level  —  the  slopes  were  too 
steep  even  for  the  Basuto  horses,  and  therefore  we  left 
them  in  charge  of  one  of  our  Kf^fir  attendants.  A  more 
rich  and  varied  alpine  flora  than  clothed  the  pastures  all 
round  I  have  seldom  seen.  The  flowers  had  those  brilliant 
hues  that  belong  to  the  plants  of  our  high  European  moun- 
tains, and  they  grew  in  marvelous  profusion.  They  were 
mostly  of  the  same  genera  as  one  finds  in  the  Alps  or  the 
Pyrenees,  but  all  or  nearly  all  of  different  species ;  and 
among  those  I  found  several,  particularly  two  beautiful 
(Jerania,  which  the  authorities  at  Kew  have  sinc^e  told  me 
are  new  to  science.  It  was  interesting  to  come  here  upon 
two  kinds  of  heath — the  first  we  had  seen  since  quitting 
the  Cape  peninsula,  for,  rich  as  that  peninsula  is  in  heaths, 
there  are  very  few  to  be  found  in  other  parts  of  South 
Africa,  and  those  only,  I  think,  upon  high  mountains. 

After  a  short  rest  we  started  for  the  final  climb,  first 

•up  a  steep  acclivity,  covered  with  low  shrubs  and  stones, 

and  then  across  a  wide  hollow,  where  several  springs  of 

deliciously  cold  water  break  out.     Less  than  an  hour's 


> 


t  !i 


m 


■i 

'  I 

r  i 
'v 


k 


1 


:;  10 


IMl'UKSSIONS   OK   SOl'TlI    AKKK'A 


M 


\iH 


L  III  ' 


easy  work  brouj^lit  us  to  (lie  liifj^lu'sl  point,  of  ;i  ridp' 
wliicli  iVll  northward  in  a  prccipico,  and  our  Katirs  d(!- 
iOarcd  that  this  was  tho  suniiuit  of  Machacha.  Hut  ri^^ht 
in  front  of  us,  not  half  a,  niih'  away,  on  tlu>  «)tht'r  siih'  of 
n  deep  somicirciuhir  jiftdf, —  wluit  is  caUctl  in  Scothind 
a  corric, — a  hu«j;o  bhu'k  clitT  vcarrd  its  h«'ad  400  f(H't 
al>ov»'  us,  aiul  above  »'V('rythin«i:  olsc  in  sii4:lit.  This  was 
t'vitlt'utly  tlic  true  top,  and  must  be  ascended.  Tlie  Katirs, 
pei'haps  tliinkiu«j  tlu»y  had  done  en<)U^h  foi"  one  day,  pro- 
test cil  tliat  it  was  inaeeessibh>.  "  Nonsense,"  we  answered  ; 
'•  that  is  where  we  are  jj;:oinfi"  ;  and  when  we  started  oft' at 
full  speed  they  followe<l.  Keepinjjjaloufjf  the  crest  for  about 
half  a  mile  to  the  eastward  —  it  is  an  arete  which  breaks 
down  to  the  eorrie  in  trenuMulous  precripices,  but  slopes 
more  «iently  to  the  south — we  canu^  to  the  base  of  the 
black  elitf,  aiul  pn'sently  d  scovchmI  ii  way  by  whiidi, 
climbin«i:  hither  and  thither  throuf>h  the  cru^s,  we  reaeluMl 
the  summit,  and  saw  an  immense  landscape  unroll  itself 
before  us.  It  was  one  of  those  views  which  have  th(5 
ch.irm,  so  often  jibsent  from  mountain  panoramas,  of 
eombinini*;  a  wide  stretc^h  of  j)lain  in  one  direction  with  a 
tossin«j:  sea  of  nu)untain-peaks  in  another.  To  the  north- 
east and  east  and  southeast,  one  saw  nothinjjf  but  moun- 
tains, sonu^  of  them,  especially  in  the  far  northeast,  toward 
Natal,  apparently  as  lofty  as  that  on  which  we  stood,  and 
numy  of  them  built  on  bohl  aiul  noble  lines.  To  the  south- 
east, where  are  the  t>reat  waterfalls  whitdi  are  one  of  the 
j^lories  of  Hasutoland,  tlu'  i>eneral  heijjfht  was  less,  but  a 
few  pt^aks  seemed  to  reach  10,000  feet.  At  our  feet,  to 
the  west  and  southwest,  lay  the  snulinj?  corn-fields  md  pas- 
tures we  had  traversed  the  day  before,  and  beyond  them 
the  rich  and  populous  valley  of  the  Caledon  River,  and 
beyond  it,  again,  the  rolling  uplands  of  the  Orange  Free 


HAsirnn.ANi) 


•M\ 


State,  with  tlic  peak  of  Tlia))a  'Ntsliu  just  visible,  and  still 
farther  a.  ))liie  !'i<l}^e,  laiiit,  in  tlie  extreme  distance,  that 
s(  CTued  to  lie  on  tJM!  othei*  side  of  liloeiiit'oiitein,  nearly  one 
hundred  miles  away.  The  sky  was  ])ri^dit.  above  us,  hut 
thunder-stoi'ins  Innif^  over  the  plains  of  the  Fnu;  State  he- 
hind  Ladyhraiid,  and  now  and  then  one  eau^rlit  a  forke<l 
tonjj^ue  <d'  lij^ht  tlashinj^  from  aniou}^  ihom.  It  was  a  ma}^'- 
nitieent  landscape,  whose  hai'eness  —  for  there  is  scarcely 
a  tree  upon  these  slopes  —  was  more  than  compensated  hy 
tlie  brilliance  of  the  lij^ht  and  th(i  (dearness  of  the  air, 
which  juade  the  contrasts  between  the  sunlit  valley  of  the 
Caledon  and  tin;  solemn  sha(h)ws  undt^r  tlie  thunder-clouds 
more  striking",  and  the  tone  of  tin;  distant  ranj^es  more  deep 
and  I'ich  in  eohu%  than  in  any  similar  i)rospect  <uie  couhl 
recall  from  thi;  mountain  watch-tow(Ts  of  Kuroj»e.  Nor 
was  the  clemiMit  of  liistori(!al  intiM'ost  wanting.  Kift<'en 
mih's  away,  but  seemiiij^  to  lie  almost  at  our  feet,  was  tln^ 
flat-topped  hill  of  Thal)a  Hosiyo,  the  oft-besi<'^ed  stronj^- 
hold  of  Moshesh,  and  bc^yond  it  the  l)road  table-land  of 
Herea,  when;  tin;  Hasutos  fought,  and  almost  overcame, 
the  forces  of  Sir  (leorjj^L'  Cathcart  in  that  war  of  1852 
which  was  so  fateful  both  to  Basutoland  and  to  the 
Free  State. 

Less  than  a  mile  from  the  peak  on  which  we  sat,  we 
could  descry,  in  the  precipice  which  surrounds  the  great 
corrie,  the  black  mouth  of  a  cave.  It  was  tin;  den  of  the 
cannibal  chief  Machacha,  whose  name  has  (dung  to  the 
mountain,  and  who  <»stablished  himself  there  seventy 
years  ago,  when  tin;  ravages  of  Tshaka,  the  Zulu  king, 
had  driven  the  Kafir  trilx^s  of  Natal  to  seek  safety  in 
flight,  and  reduced  some  among  them,  for  want  of  other 
food,  to  take  to  human  flesh.  Before  that  time  this 
mountain-land  had  been  inhabited  only  by  wandering 

22* 


h; 


/ij;! 


1 1^ 


\  y 


.i         ! 


\! 


342 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


V  '  11 


Bushmen,  who  hav(3  left  marks  of  their  presence  in 
pictures  on  the  rocks.  Here  and  there  amon*^  the  crags 
jabl)ering  baboons  darted  about,  and  great  hawks  sailed 
in  circles  above  us.  Otherwise  we  had  seen  no  living 
wild  creature  since  we  left  the  pastures  of  the  valley. 

The  summit  of  Machacha  is  composed  of  a  dark  igne- 
ous rock,  apparently  a  sort  of  amygdaloidal  trap,  with 
white  calcareous  crystals  scattered  through  it.  The 
height  is  given  on  the  maps  as  11,000  feet ;  but  so  far  as 
one  could  judge  by  frequent  observations  from  below 
and  by  calculations  made  during  the  ascent,  I  should 
think  it  not  more  than  10,500.  It  seems  to  be  the  culmi- 
uatiFig  point  of  the  Maluti  Range,  but  may  be  exceeded 
in  height  by  Mo.nt  aux  Sources,  eighty  miles  off  to  the 
northeast,  w' ere  Basutoland  touches  Natal  on  the  one 
side  and  the  Free  State  on  the  other. 

Descending  by  a  somewhat  more  direct  route,  which  we 
struck  out  for  ourselves,  we  rejoined  our  horses  at  the 
pass  where  we  had  left  them  three  hours  before,  and  from 
there  plunged  down  the  kloof,  or  ravine,  between  the 
precipices  which  lead  to  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  It  was 
here  too  steep  to  ride;  indeed,  it  was  abort  as  steep  a 
slope  as  one  can  descend  on  foot  with  comfort,  the  angle 
being  in  some  places  fully  40°.  A  grand  piece  of  sce- 
nery, for  the  dark  rock  walls  rose  menacing  on  either 
hand ;  and  also  a  beautiful  one,  for  the  flowers,  especially 
two  brilliant  shrubby  geraniums,  were  profuse  and  gor- 
geous in  hue.  At  the  bottom,  after  a  very  rough  scramble, 
we  mounted  our  horses  and  hastened  along  to  escape  the 
thunder-storm  which  was  now  nearly  upon  us,  and  which 
presently  drove  us  for  shelter  into  a  native  hut,  where  a 
Basuto  woman,  with  her  infant  hanging  in  a  cloth  on  her 
back,  was  grinding  corn  between  two  stones.    She  went 


BASUTOLAND 


'3i\i 


Oil  with  lier  work,  and  presently  addressed  niy  wife, 
asking  (as  was  explained  to  us)  for  a  piece  of  soaj) 
wherewith  to  smear  her  face,  presumably  as  a  more 
fragrant  substitute  for  the  clay  or  ochre  with  which  the 
Basuto  ladies  cover  their  countenances.  The  hut  was 
clean  and  sweet,  and,  indeed,  all  through  Basutoland  wo 
were  struck  by  the  neat  finish  of  the  dwellings  and  of 
the  reed  fences  which  inclose  them.  When  the  storm 
had  passed  away  over  the  mountains,  '•  growling  and 
muttering  into  other  lands,"  and  the  vast  horizon  was 
again  flooded  with  evening  sunshine,  we  rode  swiftly 
away,  first  over  the  rolling  plateau  we  had  traversed  in 
the  forenoon,  then  turning  to  the  north  along  the  top  of 
the  sandstone  cliffs  that  inclose  the  valley  of  the  Kaloe 
River,  where  Bushman  pictures  adorn  the  caves.  At  last, 
as  night  fell,  we  dropped  inio  the  valley  of  the  Kalue  it- 
self, and  so,  slowly  through  the  darkness,  for  the  horses 
were  tired,  and  the  track  (which  crosses  the  river  four 
times)  was  rough  and  stony,  came  at  last  to  the  mission 
station  of  Thaba  Bosiyo.  Here  we  were  welcomed  by  the 
Swiss  pastor  in  charge  of  the  mission,  Mr.  E.  Jacottct, 
whose  collections  of  Basuto  and  Barotse  popular  tales  have 
made  him  well  known  to  the  students  of  folk-lore.  No 
man  knows  the  Basutos  better  than  he  and  his  colleague, 
Mr.  Dyke  of  Mori j a ;  and  what  they  told  us  was  of  the 
highest  interest.  Next  day  was  Sunday,  and  gave  us  the 
opportunity  of  seeing  a  large  congregation  of  Basuto 
converts  and  of  hearing  their  singing,  the  excellence  of 
which  reminded  us  of  the  singing  of  negro  congregations 
ii:  the  Southern  States  of  America.  We  had  also  two 
interesting  visits.  One  was  from  an  elderly  Basuto  mag- 
nate of  the  neighborhood,  who  was  extremely  anxious 
to  know  if  Queen  Victoria  really  existed,  or  was  a  mere 


■    H 


i 


f    i 


344 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


I    ' 


figment  of  the  British  governnieiit.  He  had  met  many 
white  men,  he  told  us,  but  none  of  tliem  had  ever  seeM 
the  Queen,  and  he  eould  not  imagine  how  it  was  possiWe 
that  a  great  ehieftainess  should  not  be  seen  by  her  people. 
We  satisfied  his  euriosity  by  giving  full  details  of  the 
times,  plaees,  and  manner  in  whieh  the  British  sovereign 
receives  her  subjeets,  and  he  went  away,  declaring  him- 
self convinced  and  more  loyal  than  ever.  The  second 
visitor  was  a  lady  who  had  come  to  attend  church.  She 
is  the  senior  wife  of  a  chief  named  Thekho,  a  son  of 
Moshesh.  She  impressed  us  as  a  person  of  great  force 
of  character  and  great  conversational  gifts,  was  dressed 
in  a  fashionable  hat  and  an  enormous  black  velvet  man- 
tle, and  plied  us  with  numerous  questions  regarding  the 
Queen,  her  family,  and  her  government.  She  lives  on  the 
hill  among  her  dependents,  exerts  great  influence,  and 
has  done  good  service  in  resisting  the  reactionary  ten- 
dencies of  her  brother-in-law  Masupha,  a  dogged  and 
turbulent  old  pagan. 

The  mission  station  lies  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  of  Thaba 
Bosiyo,  in  a  singular  region  where  crags  of  white  or  gray 
sandstone,  detached  from  the  main  mass  of  the  tabular 
hills,  stand  up  in  solitary  shafts  and  pinnacles,  and  give  a 
weird,  uncanny  look  to  the  lands(5ape.  The  land  is  fertile 
and  well  cultivated,  but  the  alluvial  soil  is  intersected  in 
all  directions  by  the  channels  of  streams,  whicn  have  dug 
so  deep  into  it  that  much  good  land  is  every  year  lost  by 
the  mischief  the  streams  work  when  in  flood.  The  sides 
of  these  channels  are  usually  vertical,  and  often  eight,  ten, 
or  even  twelve  feet  high,  so  that  they  offer  a  serious  ob- 
stacle to  travelers  either  by  wagon  or  on  horseback.  The 
hill  itself  is  so  peculiar  in  structure,  and  has  played  such 
a  part  in  history,  as  to  deserre  some  words  of  description. 


Pi  i 


r  'i 


111 


BAbUTOLANl) 


34; 


It  is  uearl>  wo  miles  long  and  less  than  a  mile  across, 
elliptical  in  forai,  risiuj?  about  five  hundred  feet  aV)ove 
its  base,  and  breaking  down  on  every  side  in  a  line  of 
cliffs,  which  on  the  northwest  and  north  side  (toward  the 
mission  station)  are  from  twenty  to  forty  feet  high.  On 
the  other  side,  which  I  could  not  so  carefully  examine, 
they  are  apparently  higher.  These  cliffs  are  no  continu- 
ous all  round  as  to  leave  —  so  one  is  told  —  onlv  three 
spots  in  the  circumference  where  they  can  be  climbed; 
and  although  I  noticed  one  or  two  other  places  where  a 
nimble  cragsnuin  Tuiglit  make  his  way  up,  it  is  at  those 
three  points  only  that  an  attack  by  a  number  of  men 
could  possibly  be  made.  The  easiest  point  is  where  a 
dike  of  igneous  rock,  thirty  feet  wide,  strikes  up  the  face 
of  the  hill  from  the  north-northwest,  cutting  through  the 
sandstone  precipice.  The  decomposition  of  this  dike  has 
opened  a  practicable  path,  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five  feet 
in  width,  to  the  toj).  The  top  is  a  large  grassv  flat,  with 
springs  of  water  and  plenty  of  good  pasture. 

It  was  this  natural  fortress  that  the  Basuto  chief  Mo- 
sheshwe,  or,  as  he  is  usually  called,  Moshesh,  chose  for  his 
dwelling  and  the  stronghold  of  his  tribe,  in  a.  d.  1824. 
The  conquests  of  the  ferocious  Tshaka  had  driven  thou- 
sands of  Kafirs  from  their  homes  in  Natal  and  on  both 
sides  of  the  Vaal  River.  Clans  had  been  scattered,  and  the 
old  dynasties  rooted  out  or  bereft  of  their  influence  and 
power.  In  the  midst  of  this  confusion,  a  young  man,  the 
younger  son  of  a  chief  of  no  high  lineage,  and  belonging 
to  a  small  tribe,  gathered  round  him  a  number  of  minor 
clans  and  fugitives  from  various  quarters,  and  by  his 
policy — astute,  firm,  and  tenacious — built  them  up  into 
what  soon  became  a  powerful  nation.  Moving  hither 
and  thither  along  the  foot  of  the  great  Maluti  range,  his 


l::i 


k 


I 


t 


I, 


}i 


i'  t 


340 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


skilful  eye  fixed  on  Thaba  Bosiyo  as  a  place  fit  to  be  the 
ht  adquarters  of  the  nation.  There  was  ^ood  land  all 
around,  the  approaches  could  bo  easily  watched,  and  tlie 
hill  itself,  made  almost  impregnable  by  nature,  supplied 
I)iisture  for  the  cattle  as  well  as  perennial  water.  By  tact- 
fully conciliating  the  formidable  tribes  and  boldly  raiding 
the  weaker  ones,  Moshesh  rapidly  acquired  wealth  (that  is 
to  say,cattle),  strength,  and  reputation  i^*-^  ;  ...183G,wlien 
the  emigrant  Boers  moved  up  into  .  .  )w  the  Free 

State,  he  was  already  the  second  ,  v,  .icrth  of  the 
mountains,  inferior  only  to  the  terrible  xviosilikatze.  The 
latter  on  one  occasion  (in  1831)  had  sent  a  strong  force  of 
Matabili  against  him.  Moshesh  retired  into  his  hill,  which 
he  defended  by  rolling  down  stones  on  the  assailants;  and 
when  the  invaders  were  presently  obliged  to  retreat  for 
want  of  food,  he  sent  supplies  to  them  on  their  way  back, 
declaring  his  desire  to  be  at  peace  with  all  men.  The 
Matabili  never  attacked  him  again.  In  1833  he  intimated 
to  the  missionaries  of  the  Paris  Evangelical  Society  his 
willingness  to  receive  them,  planted  them  at  Morija,  and 
gave  them  afterward  their  present  station  at  the  foot  of 
Thaba  Bosiyo,  his  own  village  being,  of  course,  on  the 
top.  Their  counsels  were  of  infinite  value  to  him  in  the 
troublous  times  that  followed,  and  he  repaid  them  by 
constant  protection  and  encouragement.  But  though  he 
listened,  like  so  many  Kafir  chiefs,  to  sermons,  enjoyed 
the  society  of  his  French  and  Swiss  friends,  and  was 
himself  fond  of  quoting  Scripture,  he  never  became  a 
Christian,  and  was  even  thought  to  have,  like  Solomon, 
fallen  in  his  old  age  somewhat  more  under  heathen  in- 
fluences. Many  were  the  wars  he  had  to  sustain  with 
the  native  tribes  who  lived  round  him,  as  well  as  with 
the  white  settlers  in  the  Orange  River  territory  to  the 


■  :■*: 


BASUTOLAND 


347 


north,  and  many  the  escapes  from  danger  which  his 
crafty  and  versatile  i)oliey  secured.  Two  of  these  wars 
deserve  special  mention,  for  both  are  connected  with  the 
place  I  am  describinj^.  In  December,  1852,  Sir  Georj,'e 
Cathcart,  then  Governor  of  Cai)e  Colony,  crossed  the 
Caledon  River  a  little  above  Maseru  and  led  a  force  of 
two  thousand  British  int'antrv  and  Ave  hundred  cavalrv, 
b(;sides  artillery,  aj^ainst  the  Basutos.  One  of  the  three  di- 
visions in  which  the  armv  moved  was  led  into  an  ambush, 

k  7 

severely  handled  by  tiie  nimble  Basuto  horsemen,  and 
obliged  to  retreat.  The  division  which  Sir  George  him- 
self led  found  itself  confronted,  when  it  reached  the  foot 
of  Thaba  Bosiyo,  by  a  body  of  Basutos  so  numerous  and 
active  that  it  had  great  difficulty  in  holding  its  ground, 
and  might  have  been  destroyed  but  for  the  timely  arrival 
of  the  third  division  just  before  sunset.  The  British 
general  intrenched  himself  for  the  night  in  a  strorg  po- 
sition ;  and  next  morning,  realizing  at  length  the  diffi- 
culties of  his  enterprise,  set  out  to  retire  to  the  Caledon 
River.  Before  he  reached  it,  however,  a  message  from 
Moshesh  overtook  him.  That  wary  chief,  who  knew  the 
real  strength  of  the  British  better  than  did  his  peoi)le, 
had  been  driven  into  the  war  by  their  over-confidence 
and  their  reluctance  to  pay  the  cattle  fine  which  the 
Governor  had  demanded.  Now  that  there  was  a  chance 
of  getting  out  of  it  he  resolved  to  seize  that  chance,  and, 
after  consultation  with  one  of  the  French  missionaries, 
begged  Sir  George  Cathcart  for  peace,  acknowledging 
himself  to  be  the  weaker  party,  and  declaring  that  he 
would  do  his  best  to  keep  his  tribesmen  in  order.  The 
Governor,  glad  to  be  thus  relieved  of  what  might  have 
proved  a  long  and  troublesome  war,  accepted  these  over- 
tures.   The  British  army  was  marched  back  to  Cape 


1,1 


I' 
I 

1 1'.i 


!H 


:if 


U4H 


C«.l< 


IMPHKSSIONS  ur   SOUTH   AFRICA 


nd  Moslit'sli  th 


'<»l<my,  una  Moshcsli  tlMTcat'ter  enjoyed  Hie  fame  of  })"injjr 
the  only  native  potentate  who  had  eonic  out  of  a  stiiip- 
ifle  witli  Great  liritain  virtnallv  if  not  fonnallv  tlie  victor. 
But  a  still  severer  ordeal  was  in  store  for  the  vir^nn 
fortress  and  its  hu'd.  After  inueh  indeeisive  strife,  the 
wliites  and  the  Basutos  were,  in  IHdf),  apiin  en^a^ed  in 
a  serious  war.  The  peoi)le  of  what  had  then  become  (see 
Chapter  Xi)  the  Oran^tf  Free  State  had  found  the  Ba- 
sutos troublesome  nci<(h})()rs,  and  there  was  also  a  dispute 
regariintif  the  frontier  line  l)etween  tliem.  After  a  <^ood 
deal  of  indeeisive  fi^htin^  the  P^ree  State  militia,  well 
practised  in  native  warfare,  invaded  Basutoland,  reduced 
many  of  the  native  sti'>M«iholds,  and  besieged  Thaba 
Bosivo.  A  storminu:  i)}ti-tv  advanced  to  earrv  the  hill 
by  assault,  mounting  the  steep  open  acclivity  to  the 
passage  which  is  opened  (as  already  mentioned)  by  the 
greenstone  dike  as  it  L'uts  its  way  through  the  line 
of  sandstoue  (jliff.  Thev  had  driven  the  Basutos  before 
them,  and  had  reached  a  point  where  the  path  leads  up 
a  narrow  cleft  formed  by  the  decomposition  of  the  dike, 
between  walls  of  rock  some  twentv  feet  high.  Thirtv 
yards  uiore  would  have  brought  them  to  the  open  top 
of  the  hill,  and  Moshesh  would  have  been  at  their  mer(;y. 
But  at  this  moment  a  bullet  fi'om  one  of  the  few  muskets 
which  the  defenders  possessed,  fired  by  a  good  marks- 
man from  the  rock  above  the  cleft,  pierced  Wepener, 
the  leader  of  the  assailants.  The  storming  party  halted, 
hesitated,  fell  back  to  the  l)ottom  of  the  hill,  and  the 
place  was  once  more  saved.  Not  long  after,  Moshesh, 
finding  himself  likely  to  be  overmastered,  besought  the 
Imperial  Government,  which  had  always  regarded  him 
with  favor  since  the  conclusion  of  Sir  George  Cathcart's 
war,  to  receive  him  and  his  people,  "  and  let  them  live 


BASUTOLANI) 


:m» 


utidor  tlu'  lar«r»'  folds  of  the  t\n^  of  K!i<;Iiin<l."  Tli«'  Iliirli 
(JominissioiKT  inttTVciu'd.  dtrlariii^^  tlif  Hasiitos  to  lit* 
tlK'iKM'forward  British  sid)jtM'ts,  and  in  1S()!)  a  pcacu'  was 
coiicduded  with  tlie  Free  State,  l)V  which  tht>  hittt'i-  oh- 
taint'd  a  frrtih;  strip  of  territory  ah)n«,'  the  northwest 
l)raneii  of  tlie  Cah'doii,  whieh  had  pi'eviously  l)een  hehl  by 
Mosliesh,  while  tlu;  Hasutos  eanie  (in  1H71)  under  the  ad- 
ministrative (M3ntr<»l  of  Cape  Cohniy.  Moshcsh  died  soon 
afterward,  full  of  years  and  honor,  and  leavin*,'  a  name 
whieh  has  become  famous  in  South  Africa.  H«'  was  one 
of  the  remarkable  instances,  like  Toussaint  L'Ouverture 
and  the  Hawaiian  kin<^  Kamehameha  the  First,  of  a  nnin, 
spruny;  from  a  savaj^e  race,  who  etTceted  <i:reat  thinjjs  by 
a  display  of  wholly  ex(!ei)tiomd  «;ifts.  His  sayin«?s  have 
become  proverbs  in  native  mcMiths.  One  of  them  is  woi'th 
noting',  as  a  piece  of  j^rim  humor,  a  ([nality  rare  atnonjif 
the  Kafirs.  Some  of  his  chief  men  had  been  ur«;in«?  him, 
after  he  liad  become  powerful,  to  take  vengean(!e  upon 
certain  cannibals  who  were  believed  to  have  killed  and 
eaten  his  grandparents.  Moshesh  replied  :  *'  I  must  con- 
sider well  before  I  disturb  the  sepulchers  of  my  ances- 
tors."  Basutoland  renuiined  quiet  till  1879,  when  the 
Cape  government,  urged,  it  would  appear,  by  the  restless 
spirit  of  Sir  Bartle  Frere  (then  (lovernor),  conceived  the 
unhappy  project  of  disarming  the  Basutos.  It  was  no 
doubt  a  pity  that  so  many  of  them  possessed  firearms; 
but  it  would  have  been  better  to  let  them  keep  their 
weapons  than  to  provoke  a  war;  and  the  Cape  Prime 
Minister,  who  met  the  nation  in  its  great  popular  assem- 
bly, the  Pitso,  had  ample  notice  through  the  speeches  dt3- 
livered  there  by  important  chiefs  of  the  resistance  with 
which  any  attempt  to  enforce  disarmament  would  be  met. 
However,  rash   counsels   prevailed.      The  attempt   was 


r  ] 


I4. 


■M 


I 


\l  I  ' 


iiJ 


urjo 


IMTUKSSIONH  OF   SOUTH   AFKICA 


'  ■•» 


made  in  ISHO;  war  followed,  and  the  Hasntoa  gnvo  the 
colonial  tr(»oi)s  so  much  trouble  that  in  \HH'.\  the  Colony 
proposed  to  al)andon  the  territory  alto<rether.  Ultinnitely, 
in  1H84,  the  Imperial  (lovernment  took  it  over,  and  has 
ever  since  administered  it  l>v  a  rcsidont  commissioner. 

Til!'  Hasuto  nation,  whi«'h  luul  heen  brouf^ht  very  low 
at  the  time  when  Moshesh  threw  himself  upon  tlu^  Brit- 
ish government  for  protection,  has  latterly  j^rown  rap- 
idly, and  now  numl)ers  over  220,000  souls.  This  increase 
is  partly  duo  to  an  intlux  of  Kafirs  from  other  tribes, 
each  chief  encouraj^ing  the  intlux,  since  the  new  retainers 
who  surround  him  increase  his  importance.  But  it  has 
now  reached  a  j)oint  when  it  ought  to  be  stopi)ed,  because 
all  t\w  agricultural  land  is  taken  up  for  tillage,  and  the 
pastures  begin  scarcely  to  suflfice  for  the  cattle.  The  area 
is  10,263  scpiare  miles,  about  two  thirds  that  of  Switzer- 
land, but  by  far  the  larger  part  of  it  is  wild  mountain. 
No  Europeans  are  allowed  to  hold  land,  and  a  license  is 
needed  even  for  the  keeping  of  a  store.  Neither  are  any 
mines  worked.  European  prospectors  are  not  even  al- 
lowed to  come  in  and  search  for  minerals,  for  the  policy 
of  the  authorities  has  been  to  keep  the  country  for  the 
natives;  and  nothing  alarms  the  chiefs  so  much  as  the 
occasi<mal  appearance  of  these  speculative  gentry,  who,  if 
allowed  a  foothold,  would  soon  dispossess  them.  Thus  it 
remains  doubtful  whether  either  gold  or  silver  or  dia- 
monds exist  in  "payable"  quantities. 

The  natives,  however,  go  in  large  numbers  —  in  1895-9G 
as  manv  as  28,000  went  out  —  to  work  in  the  mines  at 
Kimberley  and  on  the  Witwatersrand,  and  bring  back 
savings,  which  have  done  much  to  increase  the  prosperity 
of  the  tribe.  At  present  they  seem  fairly  contented  and 
peaceable.    The  land  belongs  to  the  nation,  and  all  may 


BASUTOLANl) 


n.-i 


nl- 
icy 
the 
the 
lo,  if 
s  it 
ilia- 


fiTt'ly  tun  tlu'ir  cattlr  on  thf  uiitiUcd  parts.  Fields, 
however,  are  allotted  to  each  houst-holdcr  hy  the  chit't",  to 
lie  tilled,  and  the  tenant,  protecited  l»y  piihlie  opinion, 
retains  them  so  lon^  us  he  tills  them.  He  cannot  sell 
tlu'in,  htit  they  will  pass  to  his  ehildren.  Ordinary 
adndnistration,  whieh  consists  mainly  in  the  allotment 
and  imma^ement  of  land,  is  left  to  the  ehief;  as  also 
ordinary  jurisdiction,  Itoth  civil  and  <'rindiial.  The 
present  tendency  is  for  the  disposing'  power  of  the  chief 
over  the  land  to  increase;  and  it  is  possible  that  lirit- 
ish  law  may  ultimately  turn  him,  as  it  turned  the  head 
of  an  Irish  sept,  into  an  owner.  The  ehief  holds  his 
(;ourt  at  his  kraal,  in  tlio  open  air,  setth'S  disputes 
UJid  awards  punishments.  There  are  several  Hritish 
magistrates  to  deal  with  grave  otfenses,  and  a  foi'ee  of 
220  native  police,  under  British  oflicers.  Lerotho<li,  as 
the  suecessor  of  Moshesh,  is  Paramount  Chief  of  the  na- 
tion; and  all  the  greater  chieftainships  under  him  are 
held  by  his  uncles  and  cousins, —  sons  and  grandsons  ^)f 
the  founder  of  the  dvnastv, —  while  there  are  also  a  few 
chiefs  of  the  seeond  rank  belonging  to  other  families. 
Some  of  the  uncles,  esj)ecially  Masupha,  who  lives  at  the 
ft)ot  of  Thaba  Bosiyo,  and  is  an  obstinately  eonservailve 
heathen,  give  trouble  both  to  Lerothodi  and  to  the  British 
commissioner,  their  (puurels  turning  mainly  on  tjuestions 
of  land  and  frontier.  But  on  the  whole,  things  go  on  as 
well  as  can  be  expected  in  such  a  world  as  the  i)resent; 
disturbances  tend  to  diminish;  and  the  horses  or  cattle 
that  are  occasionallv  stolen  from  th':  Free  State  farmers 

« 

are  always  recovered  for  their  ov/ne^s,  unless  they  have 
been  got  away  out  of  Basutoknd  into  the  colonial  terri- 
tories to  the  south  and  west.  As  far  back  as  1855,  Mo- 
shesh forbade  the  "  smelling  out  "of  witches,  and  now  the 


'  tl 


.M 


352 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


i:^ 


i         i 


British  authorities  have  suppressed  the  more  noxious  or 
oifensive  kinds  of  ceremonies  practised  by  the  Kafirs. 
Otherwise  thoy  interfere  as  little  as  may  be  with  native 
ways,  trusting  to  time,  peace,  and  the  missionaries  to  se- 
cure the  gradual  civilization  of  the  people.  Once  a  year 
tlie  commissioner  meets  the  whole  people,  in  their  na- 
tional assembly  called  the  Pitso, —  the  name  is  derived 
from  their  verb  "  to  call,"  —  which  in  several  points  re- 
calls the  agora,  or  assembly  of  freemen  described  in  the 
Homeric  poems.  The  Paramount  Chief  presides,  and  de- 
bate is  mainly  conducted  by  the  chiefs ;  but  all  freemen, 
gentle  and  simple,  have  a  right  to  speak  in  it.  There  is 
no  voting,  only  a  declaration,  by  shouts,  of  the  general 
feeling.  Tliough  the  Paramount  Chief  has  been  usually 
the  person  who  convokes  it,  a  magnate  lower  in  rank 
might  always,  like  Achilles  in  the  Iliad,  have  it  sum- 
moned when  a  fitting  occasion  arose.  And  it  was  gen- 
erally preceded  by  a  consultation  among  the  leading  men, 
though  I  could  not  discover  that  there  was  any  regular 
council  of  chiefs.  In  all  these  points  the  resemblance  to 
the  primary  assemblies  of  the  early  peoples  of  Europe  is 
close  enough  to  add  another  to  the  arguments,  already 
strong,  which  discredit  the  theory  that  there  is  any  such 
thing  as  an  ''Aryan  type"  of  institutions,  and  which 
suggest  the  view  that  in  studying  the  polities  of  primitive 
nations  we  must  not  take  affinities  of  language  as  the 
basis  of  a  classification. 

To-day  the  Pitso  has  lost  much  of  its  old  importance, 
and  tends  to  become  a  formal  meeting,  in  which  the 
British  commissioner  causes  new  regulations  to  be  read 
aloud,  inviting  discussion  on  points  which  any  one  pre- 
sent may  desire  to  raise,  and  addresses  the  people,  award- 
ing praise  or  blame,  and  adding  such  exhortations  as 


m 


BASUTOLAND 


353 


he  thinks  seasonable.  The  missionaries  and  the  chief 
British  officials  are  usually  present.  I  read  through  the 
shorthand  report  of  the  great  Pitso  held  in  1870,  at  which 
the  question  of  disarmament  was  brought  forward  by 
the  Cape  Prime  Minister,  and  was  struck  by  the  freedom 
and  intelligence  with  which  the  speakers  delivered  their 
views.  One  observed:  "This  is  our  parliament,  though  it 
is  a  very  disorderly  parliament,  because  we  are  all  mixed 
up,  young  and  old ;  and  we  cannot  accept  any  measure 
without  discussion."  Another  commented  severely  upon 
an  unhappy  phrase  that  had  been  used  at  Cape  Town 
by  a  member  of  the  Cape  government :  "  Mr.  U.  said 
the  Basutos  were  the  natural  enemies  of  the  white  man, 
because  we  were  black.  Is  that  language  which  should 
be  used  by  a  high  officer  of  the  government?  Let  senti- 
ments like  these  pass  away — we  are  being  educated  to  be- 
lieve that  all  people  are  equal,  and  feel  that  sentiments 
like  these  are  utterly  wrong."  A  third  claimed  that  the 
people  must  keep  their  guns,  because  "at  our  circumcision 
we  were  given  a  shield  and  an  assagai,  and  told  never  to 
part  with  them ;  and  that  if  ever  we  came  back  from  an 
expedition  and  our  shield  and  assagai  were  not  found  be- 
fore our  house,  we  should  die  the  death."  And  a  fourth, 
wishing  to  excuse  any  vehement  expression  he  might  use, 
observed:  "We  have  a  proverb  which  says  that  a  man 
who  makes  a  mistake  in  a  public  assembly  cannot  be 
killed."  In  this  proverb  there  is  the  germ  of  the  P]nglish 
"  privilege  of  Parliament."  It  is  easy  to  gather  from  the 
whole  proceedings  of  these  Pitsos  how  much  more  popu- 
lar government  has  been  among  the  Basutos  than  it  was 
among  the  Zulus  or  Matabili.  Tshaka  or  Lo  Bengula 
would  in  a  moment  have  had  the  iieck  twisted  of  any 
one  who  ventured  to  differ  publicly  from  his  opinion. 


'I 

;  Pil 

'l    'I 

i     I. 


1 


|)1 


i 


n 


354 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


»•       I 


III  this  respect  the  Basutos  resemble  their  kinsfolk  the 
Bainangwato,  among  whom  Khama  rules  as  a  chief 
amenable  to  public  opinion,  which,  in  that  instance,  is 
unfortunately  far  behind  the  enlightened  pui-poses  of  the 
sovereign. 

Nowhere  has  the  gospel  made  such  progress  among 
the  Kafirs  as  in  Basutoland.  The  missionaries, —  French 
Protestant,  Roman  Catholic,  and  English  Episcopalian, — 
working  not  only  independently  but  on  very  different 
lines,  have  brought  nearly  fifty  thousand  natives  under 
Christian  influences,  as  members  or  adherents.  Not  all  of 
these  are  baptized  converts  —  the  missi(maries  of  the  Paris 
Society,  by  ^vliom  far  the  largest  part  of  the  work  has 
been  done,  tell  me  that  baptisms  do  not  increase  fast;  and 
they  are  wise  in  not  measuring  the  worth  of  their  work 
by  the  number  of  baptisms.  Education  is  spreading.  At 
the  last  public  examinations  at  the  Cape,  the  French  Pro- 
testant missionaries  sent  up  twenty  Basuto  boys,  of  whom 
ten  passed  in  honors,  and  ten  in  high  classes,  the  stan- 
dard being  the  same  for  whites  and  blacks.  There  are 
now  one  hundred  and  fifty  schools  in  the  country,  all  but 
two  of  which  are  conducted  by  the  missionaries. 

Strange  waves  of  sentiment  pass  over  the  people,  at 
one  time  carrying  them  back  to  paganism,  at  another  in- 
clining them  to  Christianity  —  the  first  sign  of  the  latter 
tendency  being  discernible  in  an  increase  of  attendance 
at  the  mission  schools.  The  women  are  more  backward 
than  the  men,  because  they  have  been  kept  in  subjection, 
and  their  intelligence  has  remained  only  half  developed. 
But  their  condition  is  improving;  men  now  work  with 
them  in  the  fields,  and  they  demand  clothes  instead  of  so 
much  oil,  wherewith  to  smear  their  bodies.  As  education 
becomes  more  diffused,  old  heathen  customs  lose  their 


l_. 


BASUTOLAND 


i}5r> 


hold,  and  will  proljably  in  thirty  years  have  disa[)i)eHrod. 
The  belief  in  ghosts  and  magic  is,  of  course,  still  strong. 
On  the  top  of  Thaba  Bosiyo  we  were  shown  the  graves 
of  Moshesh  and  several  of  his  brothers  and  sons,  marked 
by  rude  stones,  with  the  name  of  each  chief  on  his  stone. 
But  we  were  told  that  in  reality  the  bodies  of  Moshesh 
and  of  several  of  the  others  are  not  here  at  all,  luiving 
been  dug  up  and  reinterred  more  than  a  mile  aweiy  near 
the  foot  of  the  hill.  Were  the  body  under  the  stone,  the 
ghost,  which  usually  dwells  near  the  body,  would  be  lia- 
ble to  be  called  up  by  necromancers,  and  might  be  com- 
pelled to  work  mischief  to  the  tribe — mischief  which 
would  be  serious  in  proportion  to  the  power  the  spirit 
possessed  while  alive.  Considering,  however,  that  nearly 
all  the  ancient  world  held  similar  beliefs,  and  that  a  large 
part  of  the  modern  world,  even  in  Europe,  still  clings  to 
them,  the  persistence  of  these  interesting  superstitions 
need  excite  no  surprise,  nor  are  they  productive  of  much 
practical  ill,  now  that  the  witch-doctor  is  no  longer  per- 
mitted to  denounce  men  to  death. 

The  material  progress  of  the  people  has  been  aided  by 
the  enactment  of  stringent  laws  against  the  sale  of  white 
men's  intoxicating  liquors,  though  some  of  the  chiefs 
show  but  a  poor  example  of  obedience  to  these  laws, 
the  enforcement  of  which  is  rendered  difficult  by  the  illicit 
sale  which  goes  on  along  the  frontiers  where  Basutoland 
touches  the  Free  State  and  the  eastern  part  of  Cape  Col- 
onv.  The  old  native  arts  and  industries  decline  as  Euro- 
pean  goods  become  cheaper,  and  industrial  training  has 
now  become  one  of  the  needs  of  the  people.  It  is  an  en- 
couraging sign  that,  under  the  auspices  of  Lerothodi,  a 
sum  of  £3184  sterling  ($16,000),  was  collected  from  the 
tribe  in  1895-9G,  for  the  foundation  of  an  institution  to 


' 


H 


\  ii 


'.¥ 


Hi 
0' 


■I 


i'( 


1,  ■■ 


350 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


give  such  training.  The  receipts  from  iniijort  duties 
have  so  much  increased  that  the  contribution  of  £18,000 
paid  by  Cape  Colony  is  now  annually  reduced  by  nearly 
£12,000,  and  the  hut  tax,  of  ten  shillings  per  hut,  now 
easily  and  promptly  collected,  amounts  to  £23,000  a  year, 
leaving  a  surplus,  out  of  which  £1300  is  paid  to  the  Cape. 
Basutoland  is  within  the  South  African  Customs  Union. 
These  facts  are  encouraging.  They  show  that,  so  far,  the 
experiment  of  leaving  i  native  race  to  advance  in  their 
own  way,  under  their  own  chiefs,  but  carefully  supervised 
by  imperial  oiiicers,  has  proved  successful.  A  warlike,  un- 
stable, and  turbulent,  although  intelligent  people,  while 
increasing  fast  in  wealth  and  ma;;erial  comfort,  has  also  be- 
come more  peaceful  and  orderly,  and  by  the  abandonment 
of  its  more  repulsive  customs  is  passing  from  savagery 
to  a  state  of  semi-civilization.  Still  the  situation  has  its 
anxieties.  The  very  prosperity  of  the  country  has  drawn 
into  it  a  larger  population  than  the  arable  aud  pastoral 
land  may  prove  able  to  support.  The  Free  State  people 
are  not  friendly  to  it,  and  many  politicians  in  Cape  Col- 
ony would  like  to  recover  it  for  the  Colony,  while  many 
white  adventurers  would  like  to  prospect  for  mines,  or  to 
oust  the  natives  from  the  best  lands.  The  natives  them- 
selves are  armed,  and  being  liable,  like  all  natives,  to  sud- 
den fits  of  unreason,  may  conceivably  be  led  into  disorders 
which  would  involve  a  war  and  the  regular  conquest  of 
the  country.  The  firmness  as  well  as  the  conciliatory  tact- 
fulness  which  the  first  commissioner.  Sir  Marshal  Clarke, 
and  his  successor,  the  present  Acting  Commissioner,  have 
shown,  has  hitherto  averted  these  dangers,  and  has  in- 
spired the  people  with  a  belief  in  the  good  will  of  the 
government.  If  the  progress  of  recent  years  can  be 
maintained  for  thirty  years  more,  the   risk  of  trouble 


•  \> 


BASUTOLAND 


357 


viU  have  almost  disappeared,  for  by  that  time  a  new 
generation,  unused  to  war,  will  have  grown  up.  Who- 
ever  feels  for  the  native  and  cares  for  liis  future  must 
wish  a  fair  chance  for  the  experiment  that  is  now  being 
tried  in  Basutoland,  of  letting  him  develop  in  his  own 
way,  shielded  from  the  rude  pressure  of  the  whites. 


\i  1 


11 


M 


t"  I 


r^- 


^m 


I 


1  I 


'i. 


Part  IV — Some  South  Afkican  Questions 


CHAPTER  XXI 


BLACKS  AND  WHITES 

EVERYWHERE  in  South  Africa,  except  in  the  Wit- 
watersrand  and  Cape  Town,  the  black  people  greatly 
Qutnumber  the  whites.  In  the  Orange  Free  State  they 
are  nearly  twice  as  numerous,  in  Cape  Colony  and  the 
Transvaal  more  than  thrice  as  numerous,  in  Natal  ten 
times  as  numerous,  while  in  the  other  territories,  British, 
German,  arid  Portuguese,  the  disproportion  is  very  much 
greater,  possibly  some  four  or  five  i:iillions  of  natives 
against  nine  or  ten  thousand  Europeans.  The  total  num- 
ber of  whites  south  of  the  Zambesi  hardly  reaches  750,000, 
while  that  of  the  blacks  is  roughly  computed  at  from  seven 
to  eight  millions.  At  present,  therefore,  so  far  as  numbers 
go,  the  country  is  a  black  man's  country. 

It  may  be  thought  that  this  preponderance  of  the  na- 
tives is  only  natural  in  a  region  by  far  the  larger  part  of 
which  has  been  very  recently  occupied  by  Europeans,  and 
that  in  time  immigration  and  the  natural  growth  of  the 
white  element  will  I'educe  the  disproportion.  This  expla- 
nation, however,  does  not  meet  the  facts.  The  black  race 
is  at  present  increasing  at  least  as  rapidly  as  the  white. 
Utilike  those  true  aborigines  of  the  country,  the  Hotten- 
tots and  Bushmen,  who  withered  up  and  vanished  away 

358 


!  1','j 


BLACKS   AND   WHITES 


;?r.o 


before  the  whites,  the  Kafirs  themselves,  nppnreiitly  in- 
truders from  the  North,  liave  hehl  thei.  <j:rouii(l,  not  only 
in  tlie  wihler  eonntrv  wliere  thev  have  ])een  unatVt'ctcd 
by  the  European,  but  in  the  reg^ions  wlicre  h<>  luis  con- 
quered and  ruled  over  them.  They  are  more  ])i'olili('  th;in 
the  whites,  and  their  increase  is  not  rcstrnined  l)y  thosf 
prudential  eheeks  which  tell  upon  civilized  man,  because, 
wants  ])ein^  few,  subsistence  in  a  warm  climate  with  abun- 
dance of  land  is  easy.  Formerly  two  powerfnl  forces  ke])t 
down  population  :  war,  in  which  no  (juarter  wns  j^nven  and 
all  the  property  of  the  vancpiished  was  ca])tnrcd  or  de- 
stroyed;  and  the  murders  that  went  steadily  on  at  tlie 
pleasure  of  the  chief,  and  usually  through  the  ajjency  of 
the  witch-doctor.  Now  both  these  forces  have  been  re- 
moved by  the  action  of  Phiropean  government,  wliich 
has  stopped  war  and  restrains  the  caprice  of  the  chiefs. 
Relieved  from  these  cheeks,  the  Kafirs  of  the  soutli  coast 
and  of  Basutoland,  the  regions  in  which  H  has  been  easi- 
est to  observe,  are  multiplying  faster  than  the  whites,  and 
there  is  no  reason  why  the  same  thing  should  not  hap])en 
in  other  parts  of  the  country.  The  number  of  tli(^  Fin- 
goes,  for  instance  (though  they  are  no  doubt  an  exception- 
ally thrifty  and  thriving  tribe),  is  to-day  ten  times  as 
great  as  it  was  fift}^  or  sixty  years  ago.  Hei'e  is  a  fact  of 
serious  import  for  the  future.  Two  races,  far  i-emoved 
from  one  another  in  civilization  and  mental  condition, 
dwell  side  by  side.  Neither  race  will  extrude  or  absorb 
the  other.  What  then  will  be  their  relations,  and  how  will 
the  difficulties  be  met  to  which  their  juxtaposition  must 
give  rise? 

The  colonies  of  Brit.iin  over  the  world  fall  into  tAvo 
groups :  those  which  have  received  the  gift  of  seif-govei'u- 
ment,  and  those  which  are  governed  from  home  through 


■i* 

•  i  'ft 


vfri 

r 


I'  m 


m 


1  '< 


Ill 


V  • 


360 


IMl'KESSIONS  OF   80UTII   AFRICA 


executive  officials  placed  over  each  of  them.  Those  of  the 
latter  class,  called  Crown  Colonies,  are  all  (with  the  insig- 
nificant exception  of  the  Falkland  Islands)  within  the  trop- 
ics, and  are  all  peopled  chicfiy  by  colored  racos,— negroes, 
Indians,  Malays,  Polynesians,  or  Chinese,— with  a  small 
minority  of  whites.  The  self-governing  colonies,  on  the 
other  hand,  are  all  situated  in  the  temperate  zone,  and  t>re 
all,  with  one  exception,  peopled  chiefly  by  Europeans.  It 
is  because  they  have  a  European  population  that  they  have 
been  deemed  fit  to  govern  themselves,  just  as  it  is  because 
the  tropical  colonies  have  a  ])redominantly  colored  popu- 
lation that  the  sui)remacy  of  the  Colonial  Office  and  its 
local  representatives  is  acquiesced  in  as  fit  and  proper. 
Every  one  perceives  that  rt^presentative  assemblies  based 
on  a  democratic  franchise,  which  are  capable  of  govern- 
ing Canada  or  Australia,  would  not  succeed  in  the  West 
Indies  or  Ceylon  or  Fiji. 

The  one  exception  to  this  broad  division,  the  one  case 
of  self-governing  communities  in  which  the  majority  of 
the  inhabitants  are  not  of  European  stock,  is  to  be  found 
in  South  Africa.  The  general  difficulty  of  adjusting  the 
relations  of  a  higher  and  a  lower  race,  which  is  serious  in 
all  its  aspects  and  under  every  kind  of  government,  here 
presents  itself  in  the  special  form  of  the  construction  of  a 
government  which,  while  democratic  as  regards  one  of  the 
races,  cannot  safely  be  made  democratic  as  regards  the 
other.  This  difficulty,  though  new  in  the  British  empire, 
is  not  new  in  the  United  States  of  America,  which  has 
been  struggling  with  it  for  years ;  and  it  is  instructive  to 
compare  the  expedience  of  South  Africa  with  that  through 
which  the  Southern  States  have  passec^  since  the  War  of 
Secession. 

Throughout  South  Africa— and  for  this  purpose  no  dis- 


BLACKS  AND   WHITES 


not 


tinction  need  be  drawn  l)etween  the  two  Britisli  colonies 
and  the  two  Boer  rc'i)ubli('S— the  i)eo})le  of  eohir  may  be 
divided  into  two  ehisses :  tlie  wild  or  tribal  natives,  who 
are,  of  course  by  far  the  more  numerous,  and  the  tame 
or  domesticated  natives,  amon<^  whom  one  may  include, 
thougli  they  are  not  aborigines,  but  recent  incomers,  the 
Indians  of  Natal  and  the  Transvaal,  as  well  as  the  coui- 
paratively  few  Malays  of  the  Cape.  Of  these  non-tril)al 
natives,  some  till  the  land  for  themselves,  while  others 
act  as  herdsmen  or  laborers  for  white  farmers,  or  as  work- 
men in  various  trades  for  white  employers.  These  natives 
are  now  civilized  in  most  of  their  habits,  are  accustomed 
to  wear  clothes,  speak  mostly  Dutx^h  or  English,  and  to  a 
large  extent  profess  Christianity. 

It  will  be  convenient  to  deal  with  the  two  classes  sepa- 
rately, and  to  begin  with  the  semi-civilized  or  non-tribal 
natives,  who  have  been  for  the  longest  period  under  white 
influences,  and  whose  i)resent  relations  with  the  wh'iU  s 
indicate  what  the  relations  of  the  races  are  likely  to  be,  for 
some  time  to  come,  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 

The  non-tribal  people  of  color  live  in  the  Cai)e  Colony, 
except  the  southeastern  parts  (called  Pondoland  and 
Tembuland),  in  Nat^^l,  in  the  Orange  Free  State,  and 
in  the  southern  parts  of  the  T /p.iisvaal.  They  consist 
of  three  stocks :  (1)  the  so-called  Cape  boys,  a  mixed 
race  formed  by  the  intermarriage  of  Hottentots  and  Ma- 
laj'^s  with  the  negro  slaves  brought  in  early  days  from  the 
west  coast,  plus  some  small  infusion  of  Dutcli  blood ;  (2) 
the  Kafirs  no  longer  in  communities  under  their  chiefs ; 
and  (3)  the  Indian  immigrants  who  (together  with  a  few 
Chinese)  have  recently  come  into  Natal  aiid  the  Transvanl. 
and  number  about  C0,000,  not  counting  in  the  indentured 
coolies  who  are  to  be  sejit  back  to  Indi^.     There  are  iiq 


I 


f'l 


n 


i 


.'302 


IMI'UESSIONS   OF    SOL'TII    AFUICA 


'il. 


(lata  for  nonjoetiirinji^  tlu'  iminlxT  of  Ciipc  l)ova  and  domes- 
ticated Kafirs,  but  it  can  hardly  exceed  400,000. 

These  colored  peojjle  form  tlie  suhsti'jilmu  of  society 
in   all   the   four  states  abovi;  uientioued.     Thev  do  the 

« 

liarder  and  roujjfher  kinds  of  labor,  especially  of  outdoor 
labor.  Let  me  remind  the  reader  <»f  what  has  been  inci-' 
dentally  ol)served  before,  and  must  iu)w  be  insisted  on  as 
l)einjjf  tlie  capital  feature  of  South  Afri<^an  life— the  fact 
that  all  unskilled  work  is  (h)ne  by  black  i)eoide.  In  many 
parts  of  the  country  the  climate  is  not  too  hot  for  men 
belonging  to  the  north  European  races  to  work  in  the 
fields,  for  the  sun's  rays  are  generally  tempered  by  a 
breeze,  the  nights  are  cool,  and  the  dry  air  is  invigorat- 
ing. Had  South  Africa,  like  California  or  New  South 
Wales,  been  colonized  solely  by  white  men,  it  would 
probably,  like  those  countries,  have  to-day  a  white  labor- 
ing population.  But,  unlu(!kily,  South  Africa  was  colo- 
nized in  the  sevenieenth  century,  when  the  importation  of 
negro  slaves  was  deemed  the  easiest  means  of  securing 
cheap  and  abundant  labor.  From  IGoS  onward  till,  in 
1884,  slavery  was  abolished  by  the  British  Parliament,  it 
was  to  slaves  that  the  hardest  and  humblest  kinds  of 
work  were  allotted.  The  white  people  lost  the  habit  of 
performing  manual  toil,  and  acquired  the  habit  of  despising 
it.  No  one  would  do  for  himself  what  he  could  get  a  black 
man  to  do  for  him.  New  settlers  from  Europe  fell  into 
the  wavs  of  the  countrv,  which  suited  their  disinclination 
for  physical  exertion  under  a  sun  hotter  than  their  own. 
Thus,  when  at  last  slavery  was  abolished,  the  custom  of 
leaving  menial  or  toilsome  work  to  people  of  color  con- 
tinued as  strong  as  ever.  It  is  as  strong  as  ever  to-day. 
The  only  considerable  exception,  that  whi(!h  was  furnished 
by  the  German  colonists  who  were  planted  in  the  eastern 


BLACKS  AND  WHITES 


:i»'.:< 


provinoo  after  tlio  (^-inican  War  of  1H,')4,  has  ccasi'd  t<>  )»(• 
an  exception  ;  for  the  (iliildren  of  tliose  eolonisfs  liave  now, 
for  the  most  part,  sold  or  U'ased  tlieir  allotments  to  Kalirs, 
who  till  the  soil  less  eflieiently  than  the  sturdy  old  (Jer- 
mans  did.  The  artizans  who  come  from  Hurope  now  ad(»pt 
the  habits  of  the  country  in  a  few  weeks  or  months.  Tlie 
Edf^lish  carpenter  hires  a  native  "boy"  to  carry  liis  baj; 
of  tools  for  him  ;  tlu^  English  bricklayer  has  a  native  hod- 
nnm  to  hand  the  bricks  to  him,  which  lu'  jmtceeds  to  set ; 
the  Cornish  or  Australian  miner  directs  the  <'Xcavation  of 
the  seam  and  fixes  the  fuse  which  explodes  the  dynamite, 
but  the  work  with  the  pickax  is  done  by  tin*  Kalir.  Tin* 
h<M'dsmen  who  drive  the  caltV^  or  tend  the  sheep  are 
Kafii's,  actinfjf  under  the  orders  of  a  white.  Thus  the 
colored  intin  is  indispensable  to  the  white  man,  and  is 
bnmght  into  constant  relations  with  liim.  He  is  a  neces- 
sary part  of  the  economic  machinery  of  the  country, 
whether  for  mining  or  for  manufacture,  for  tillage  or  for 
ranching. 

But  though  the  bla»?k  people  form  the  lowest  stratum  of 
society,  they  are  not  all  in  a  position  of  personal  dejx'n- 
denee.  A  good  many  Kafirs,  especially  in  the  eastern  ])i*ov- 
ince,  own  the  small  farms  which  thev  till,  and  manv  others 
are  tenants,  rendering  to  their  landlord,  like  the  metayers 
of  France,  a  half  of  the  produce  by  vay  of  i-ent.  Soine 
few  natives,  especially  near  Cape  Town,  ire  even  rich,  and 
among  the  Indians  of  Natal  a  good  many  have  thriven  as 
shopkeepers.  There  is  no  reason  to  think  that  their  pres- 
ent exclusion  from  trades  requiring  skill  will  continue. 
In  1895  there  were  Kafirs  earning  from  five  shillings  to 
seven  shillings  and  sixpence  a  day  as  riveters  on  an  iron 
bridge  then  in  course  of  construction.  I  was  informed  by 
a  high  railway  official  that  many  of  them  were  quite  fit  to 


11 


''   'i 


i 

Til 


I>  I 


i\ 


M 


i 


l/*il 


'^1  i 


304 


IMI'UKSSIONS   OF   SUUTII   Al'KICA 


bo  (Irivors  or  stokers  of  loootnotivos,  tlioujjli  wliito  r.onti- 
mcnt  (wliich  tolerates  them  as  navvies  or  plate-layei-s) 
made  it  inex|)e(lieiit  to  place  them  in  sueh  positions. 
Many  work  as  servants  in  stores,  and  are,  one  hears,  n«)t 
more  prone  to  petty  tht't'ts  than  Europeans  are.  The  steal- 
injif  of  stock  from  farms  has  j^reatly  diminished.  They 
have  dropped  their  old  usajjes  and  adopted  Enroj)ean 
liahits,  have  lost  their  tribal  attachments,  usually  speak 
Dut(!h,  or  even  perha])s  Kn^'lish,  and  to  a  considerable 
extent,  esi)eeially  in  the  western  province  and  in  the  towns, 
have  joined  Christian  conj^regations.  The  Indians  are, 
of  course,  IMohammedans  or  heathens,  the  Malays  (of 
whom  there  are  only  about  1IJ,000),  Mohammedans.  They 
travel  a  good  deal  by  rail,  and  are,  especially  the  Kafirs, 
eager  for  instruction,  which  is  provided  for  them  only  in 
the  mission  schools.  Some  will  come  from  great  distances 
to  get  taught,  and  those  who  can  write  are  very  fond  of 
corresponding  with  one  another.  Taken  as  a  whole,  they 
are  a  (juiet  and  nderly  people,  not  given  to  crimes  of  vio- 
lence, and  less  given  (so  far  as  I  could  gather)  to  pilfering 
than  are  the  negroes  of  the  Southern  States  of  America. 
Assaults  upon  women,  sueh  as  are  frequent  in  those  States, 
and  have  recently  caused  a  hideous  epidemic  of  lynching, 
are  extremely  rare ;  indeed,  I  heard  of  none,  save  one  or 
two  in  Natal,  where  the  natives  are  comparatively  wild 
and  the  whites  scattered  thinly  among  them.  So  few 
Kafirs  have  yet  received  a  good  education,  or  tried  to  en- 
ter occupations  requiring  superior  intelligence,  that  it  is 
hardly  possible  to  speak  confidently  of  their  capacity  for 
the  professions  or  the  higher  kinds  of  commerce ;  but  ju- 
dicious observers  think  they  will  in  time  show  capacity, 
and  tell  you  that  their  inferiority  to  white  men  lies  less  in 
mere  intellectual  capacity  than  in  power  of  will  and  stead- 


ni.ACKS   AND   WIIITKS 


aof) 


iiu'ss  of  pur]K>s«'.  Tlicy  an'  utistaldr,  iiiiprovidciit,  easily 
tlis('()ura<r<'(l,  easily  led  astniv.  When  the  morality  of  their 
old  life,  ill  whieh  they  were  ruled  l»y  the  will  of  tiieir  «*liief, 
the  opinion  of  their  fellows,  and  the  ti'a«litional  customs  of 
the  tril)e,  has  been  witlwliawn  from  them,  it  nuiy  be  lonj; 
before  any  new  set  of  principles  can  gain  u  like  hold  upon 
them. 

That  there  siiould  be  little  eommnnity  of  ideas,  and  by 
eonse(|ueuce  little  sympathy,  between  such  u  race  and  the 
whites  is  no  more  than  any  one  would  expect  who  else- 
wlu're  in  the  world  has  studied  the  phenomena  which 
mark  the  contact  of  dissimilar  peoples.  Hut  the  traveler 
in  South  Africa  is  astonished  at  the  strong''  feeling  of  dis- 
like and  contempt— one  might  almost  say  of  hostility— 
which  the  bulk  of  the  whites  show  to  their  black  neigh- 
bors. He  asks  what  can  be  the  cause  of  it.  It  is  not  (hie, 
as  in  the  Southei'n  States  of  Amei'ica  it  luis  l)een  largely 
due,  to  political  iv  entment,  for  there  has  been  no  sud- 
den gift  to  fonner  slaves  of  power  over  former  nuisters. 
Neither  is  it  sufficiently  exi>lained  by  the  long  eonfliets 
with  the  south-coast  Kafirs ;  for  the  respect  felt  for  their 
bravery  has  tended  to  efface  tlie  recollection  of  their  cru- 
elties. Neither  is  it  caused  (exeei)t  as  respects  the  i)etty 
Iiulian  traders)  by  the  dislike  of  the  j)oorer  whites  to  the 
competition  with  them  in  industiy  of  a  class  living  in  a 
niu(!h  ruder  way  and  willing  to  acce])t  much  lower  wages. 
It  seems  to  si>ring  i)artly  fi-om  the  old  feeling  of  contempt 
for  the  slaves,  a  feeling  which  lias  descended  to  a  genera- 
tion that  has  never  seen  slavery  as  an  actual  system  ;  i)artly 
frcmi  physical  aversion  ;  ])artly  from  an  incompatibility  of 
character  and  tenii)er,  which  makes  the  faults  of  the  colored 
man  more  offensive  to  the  ^vhite  than  the  (perhaps  morally 
as  grave)  faults  of  members  of  his  own  white  stock.    Even 


»'i 


i 

n 

< 

1 

i 

•i  ' 

»i 

» 

ti 

1 

r 

1 

1 

m 


in  I 


f 


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f.m 


U66 


LMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


'J 


ffis- 


"^1 


Ll.' 


between  civilized  peoples,  such  as  Germans  and  Russians, 
►Spaniards  and  Frenchmen,  there  is  a  disposition  to  be  un- 
duly annoyed  by  traits  and  habits  which  are  not  so  much 
culi)able  in  themselves  as  distasteful  to  men  constructed 
on  different  lines.  This  sense  of  annoyance  is  naturally 
more  intense  toward  a  race  so  widely  removed  from  the 
modern  European  a  the  Kafirs  are.  Whoever  has  traveled 
among  people  of  a  race  greatly  weaker  than  his  own  must 
have  sometimes  been  conscious  of  a  kind  of  impatience 
which  arises  when  the  native  either  fails  to  imderstand  or 
neglects  to  obey  the  command  given.  The  sense  of  his 
superior  intelligence  and  energy  of  will  produces  in  the 
European  a  sort  of  tyrannous  spirit,  which  will  not  conde- 
scend to  argue  witli  the  native,  but  overbears  him  by  sheer 
force,  and  is  prone  to  resort  to  physical  coercion.  Even 
jufet  men,  who  in  theory  have  the  deepest  respect  for  hu- 
man rights,  are  apt  to  be  carried  away  by  this  conscious- 
ness of  superior  strength,  and  to  become  despotic,  if  not 
harsh.  And  the  tendency  to  race  enmity  seems  to  lie  very 
deep  in  human  nature.  Perhaps  it  is  a  survival  from  the 
times  when  eacli  race  '^ould  maintain  itself  only  by  slaugh- 
tering its  rivals. 

The  attitude  of  contempt  I  have  mentioned  may  be 
noted  in  all  classes,  though  it  is  strongest  in  those  rough 
and  thoughtless  whites  who  plume  themselves  all  the  more 
upon  their  color  because  they  have  little  else  to  plume 
themselves  upon,  while  among  the  more  refined  it  is  re- 
strained by  self-respect  and  by  the  sense  that  allowances 
must  be  made  for  a  backward  race.  It  is  stronger  among 
the  Dutch  than  among  the  English,  partly,  perhaps,  be- 
cause the  English  wish  to  be  unlike  the  Dutch  in  this  as 
in  many  other  respects.  Yet  one  often  hears  that  the 
Dutch  get  on  better  with  their  black  servants  than  the 


BLACKS  AND   WHITES 


'M7 


English  do,  l)ecause  they  imderstund  native  character  bet- 
ter, and  are  more  familiar  in  their  manners,  the  English- 
man retaining  his  national  stiffness.  The  laws  of  the 
Boer  republics  are  far  more  harsh  than  those  of  the  Eng- 
lish colonies,  and  the  Transvaal  Boers  have  been  always 
severe  and  cruel  iu  their  dealings  with  the  natives.  But 
the  English  also  have  done  so  many  things  to  regret  that  it 
does  not  lie  with  them  to  cast  stones  at  the  Boers,  and  the 
mildness  of  colonial  law  is  largely  due  to  the  influence  of 
the  home  government,  and  to  that  recognition  of  the  equal 
civil  rights  of  all  subjects  which  has  long  i)ervaded  the  law 
of  England.  Only  two  sets  of  Europeans  are  free  from 
reproach :  the  imperial  ol!icials,  who  have  almost  always 
sought  to  protect  the  natives,  and  the  clergy,  both  Protes- 
tant and  Konum  Catholic,  who  have  been  the  truest  and 
most  constant  friends  of  the  Hottentot  and  the  Kafir, 
sometimes  even  carrying  their  zeal  beyond  what  discretion 
could  api)rove. 

Deep  and  wide-spread  as  is  the  sentiment  of  aversion  to 
the  colored  people  which  I  am  describing,  it  must  not  be 
supposed  that  they  are  generally  ill-ti-eated.  Tl'ere  is  in- 
deed a  complete  social  separation.  Intermarriage,  though 
permitted  by  law  in  the  British  colonies,  is  extremely  rare, 
and  illicit  unions  are  uncommon.  Sometimes  the  usual  re- 
lations of  employer  and  employed  are  reversed,  and  a  white 
man  enters  the  service  of  a  prosperous  Kafir.  This  makes 
no  difference  as  respects  their  social  intercourse,  and  I  re- 
member to  have  been  told  of  a  case  in  whicli  the  white  work- 
man stipulated  that  his  employer  should  address  him  as 
"  boss."  Black  children  are  very  seldom  admitted  to  schools 
used  by  white  children ;  indeed,  I  doubt  if  the  two  colors  are 
ever  to  be  seen  on  the  same  benclies,  ex(!ept  at  Lovedale 
and  in  one  or  two  of  the  mission  schools  in  Cape  Town,  to 


I 


i::, 


W 


I 


i.f 


I 


•J ,  \: 


368 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


which,  as  having  very  low  fees,  some  of  the  poorest  whites 
send  their  ehihh'eu.  I  lieard  of  a  wealthy  colored  man  at 
the  Paarl,  a  Dutch  town  north  of  Cape  Town,  who  com- 
plained that,  though  he  paid  a  considerable  sum  in  taxes, 
he  was  not  permitted  to  send  his  daughter  to  any  of  the 
schools  in  the  place.  In  the  Protestant  Episcopal,  Pres- 
byterian, Congregationalist,  and  Methodist  churches,  and 
of  course  among  the  Roman  Catholics,  blacks  are  admitted 
ah)ng  with  whites  to  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper; 
but  this  (so  I  was  told)  is  not  the  case  in  the  Dutch  Re- 
formed Church.  A  prominent  and  thoughtful  ecclesiastic 
in  Natal  deplored  to  me  the  complete  want  of  sympathy 
on  the  part  of  the  white  (congregations  with  the  black  ones 
worshiping  near  them.  It  rarely,  if  ever,  happens  that  a 
native,  whatever  his  standing  among  his  own  people,— for 
to  the  white  there  is  practically  no  difference  between  one 
black  and  another,— is  received  within  a  white  man's  house 
on  any  social  occasion ;  indeed,  he  would  seldom  be  per- 
mitted, save  as  a  servant,  to  enter  a  private  house,  but  would 
be  received  on  the  stoep  (veranda).  When  Khama,  the  most 
important  chief  now  left  south  of  the  Zambesi,  a  Christian 
and  a  man  of  high  personal  character,  was  in  England  in 
1895,  and  was  entertained  at  lunch  by  the  Duke  of  West- 
minster and  other  persons  of  social  eminence,  the  news  of 
the  reception  given  him  excited  annoyance  and  disgust 
among  the  whites  in  South  Africa.  I  was  told  that  at  a 
garden-party  given  a  few  years  ago  by  the  wife  of  a 
white  bishop,  the  appearance  of  a  native  clergyman  caused 
many  of  the  white  guests  to  withdraw  in  dudgeon.  Once 
when  myself  a  guest  at  a  mission  station  in  Basutoland  I 
was  asked  by  my  host  whether  I  had  any  objection  to  his 
inviting  to  the  family  meal  a  native  pastor  who  had  been 
preaching  to  the  native  congregation.     When  I  expressed 


BLACKS  AND  WHITES 


301) 


surprise  at  the  question,  my  host  explained  that  race  feel- 
ing was  so  strong  among  the  colonists  that  it  would 
be  deemed  improper,  and  indeed  insulting,  to  make  a 
black  man  sit  down  at  the  same  table  with  a  white  guest, 
unless  the  express  permission  of  the  latter  had  first  been 
obtained.  But  ai)art  from  this  social  disparagement,  the 
native  does  not  suffer  much  actual  wrong.  Now  and  then, 
on  a  remote  farm,  the  employer  will  chastise  his  servant 
with  a  harshness  he  would  not  venture  to  ai)ply  to  a  white 
man.  A  shocking  case  of  the  kind  occurred  a  few  years 
ago  in  the  eastern  province.  A  white  farmer— an  Eng- 
lishman, not  a  Boer— flogged  his  Kafir  servant  so  severely 
that  the  latter  died ;  and  when  the  criminal  was  put  on  his 
trial,  and  acquitted  by  a  white  jury,  his  white  neighbors 
escorted  him  home  with  a  band  of  nuisic.  More  f  re(|uently, 
unscrupulous  employers,  especially  on  the  frontiers  of  civ- 
ilization, will  try  to  defraud  their  native  workmen,  or  will 
provoke  them  by  ill-usage  to  run  away  before  the  day  of 
payment  arrives.  But  there  are  no  hnchings,  as  in  Amer- 
ica, and  the  white  judges  and  magistrates,  if  not  always 
the  juries,  administer  the  law  with  perfect  impartiality. 

As  regards  the  i)rovisions  of  the  law,  one  must  distin- 
guish between  the  British  colonies  and  the  Dutch  repub- 
lics. In  the  former  the  ordinary  civil  rights  of  white  and 
black  are  precisely  the  same,  though  there  exist  certain 
police  provisions  whi(!h  are  applical)l<i  <^iily  to  the  latter. 
Cape  Colony  has  a  so-called  "  curfew  law,"  requiring  na- 
tives who  are  out  of  doors  after  dark  to  be  provided  with 
a  pass— a  law  which  is  found  oppi-essive  by  the  best  class 
of  natives,  educated  and  respectable  men,  though  defended 
as  necessary  for  public  order,  having  regard  to  the  large 
black  population  of  the  lower  class,  and  their  propensity 
to  drink  and  petty  offenses.     There  are  also  certain  "  labor 


f 

Up 

4 

I  i 

\ 


>|l 


;i7o 


IMPRESSIONS   OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


i^ 


hi 


r'l;  '  (i' 


laws,"  applying  to  the  nativos  only,  and  particularly  to 
those  on  a<::ri('ultiiral  locations,  Avhich  are  intended  to 
check  the  disposition  of  Kafirs  living  ou  native  reserves 
to  become  idle  or  to  take  to  vagrancy.  There  is  no  doubt 
a  danger  that  people  who  have  never  acquired  habits  of 
steady  industry— for  the  tribal  Kafir  leaves  to  his  wives 
the  cultivation  of  his  plot  of  maize  or  sorghum— may  re- 
lapse into  a  laziness  hurtful  to  their  own  progress,  seeing 
that  a  few  weeks'  labor  is  sufficient  to  p^'ovide  all  the 
food  needed  for  a  whole  year.  In  the  transition  from 
one  state  of  society  to  another  exceptional  legislation  is 
needed,  and  a  prima  facie  ease  for  the  so-called  "  Glen 
Grey  Act "  and  similar  laws  may,  therefore,  be  made  out. 
The  friends  of  the  natives  whom  I  consulted  on  the 
subject,  and  one  or  two  of  the  most  educated  and  repre- 
sentati^'/e  Kafirs  themselves,  did  not  seem  to  object  to  this 
aci  in  prin(!i})lo,  tliough  they  criticized  its  methods  and 
many  of  its  details.  But  as  all  such  laws  are  prompted 
not  only  Ijy  regard  for  the  welfare  of  the  Kafir,  but  also 
by  the  desire  of  the  white  colonist  to  get  plenty  of  labor 
and  to  get  it  cheap,  they  are  obviously  open  to  abuse  and 
recjuire  great  care  in  their  administration.  The  whole  sub- 
ject of  native  labor  and  native  land  tenure  is  an  intricate 
and  difficult  one,  which  I  have  not  space  to  discuss  here, 
though  I  obtained  a  good  deal  o^'  information  regarding  it. 
It  's  also  an  urgent  one,  for  the  population  which  occupies 
the  native  reserves  is  in  many  districts  growing  so  fast  that 
the  agri(;uliural  land  will  soon  cease  to  feed  them,  while 
the  pasture  is  suffering  from  being  overstocked.  Most  of 
my  informants  agreed  in  thinking  that  the  control  of  the 
British  magistrate  over  the  management  of  lands  in  reser- 
vations was  bc-tter  than  that  of  the  native  headman,  and 
ought  to  be  extended,  and  that  the  tenure  of  farms  by  in- 


BLACKS  AND   WHITES 


371 


dividual  natives  outside  the  reservations  ought  to  be  act- 
ively encouraged.  They  deemed  this  a  step  forward  in 
civilization  ;  and  they  also  held  that  it  is  necessary  to  pre- 
vent native  allotments,  even  when  held  by  individuals, 
from  being  sold  to  white  men,  conceiving  that  without 
such  a  prohibition  the  whites  w  ill  in  course  of  time  oust 
the  natives  from  all  the  best  land. 

One  law  s[)ecially  applicable  to  natives  has  been  found 
most  valuable!  in  Natal,  as  well  m-  in  the  t<'rritories  of  the 
Chartered  Company,  and  ought  to  be  enacted  in  Cai)e 
Colony  also,  viz.,  an  absolute  prohibition  of  the  sale  to 
them  of  white  men's  spirits.  The  spirits  sold  to  them  are 
rough  and  fiery,  much  more  deleterious  than  European 
whisky  or  brandy  or  hollands.  Unfortunately,  the  inter- 
ests of  the  wine-growers  and  distillers  in  the  (.'olony  have 
hitherto  proved  strong  enough  to  defejit  the  bills  intro- 
duced for  this  purpose  by  the  friends  of  the  natives. 
Though  some  jjeople  maintain  that  the  Dutch  and  anti- 
native  party  resist  this  much-needed  measure  because  they 
desire  through  strong  drink  to  weaken  and  keep  down  the 
natives,  I  do  not  believe  in  the  existence  of  any  such 
diabolical  motive.  Self-interest,  or  rather  a  foolish  and 
short-sighted  view  of  self-interest,— for  in  the  long  run  the 
welfare  of  the  natives  is  also  the  welfare  of  the  whites,— 
suflficiently  accounts  for  their  conduct ;  but  it  is  a  slur  on 
the  generally  fair  and  liberal  character  of  colonial  legis- 
lation. 

In  the  two  Dutch  republics  the  English  principle  of 
equal  civil  rights  for  white  and  black  finds  no  place.  One 
of  the  motives  which  induced  the  Boers  of  1836  to  trek 
out  of  the  Colony  was  their  disgust  at  the  establishment 
of  such  equality  by  the  British  government.  The  Grond- 
wet  (fundamental  law)  of  the  Transvaal  Republic  declared, 


\  ;V| 


iM'' 


I(- 


'5 

1^     '■' 


372 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


I 


in  1858,  and  declares  to-day,  that  "  the  peo})le  will  suffer  no 
equality  of  whites  and  ])Ja(!ks,  either  in  state  or  in  (;hnreh." 
Democratic  republics  are  not  necessarily  respectful  of  what 
used  to  be  called  human  rij^hts,  and  neitlier  the  "  principles 
of  1789  "  nor  tliose  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  find 
recoj^nition  among  the  Boers.  Both  in  tlie  Transvaal  and 
in  the  Orange  Free  S<"ate  a  native  is  forbidden  to  hold 
land,  and  is  not  permitted  to  travel  anywhere  without  a 
pass,  in  default  of  which  he  may  be  detained.  (In  the  Free 
State,  however,  the  sale  of  intoxicants  to  him  is  forbidden, 
and  a  somewhat  similar  iaw,  long  demanded  l)y  the  mine- 
owners,  has  very  recently  been  enacted  in  the  Transvaal.) 
Nor  can  a  native  serve  on  a  jury,  whereas  in  Cape  Colony 
he  is  legally  qualified,  and  sometimes  is  impaneled.  The 
whites  will  occasionally  object  to  his  presence,  but  a  large- 
minded  and  strong-minded  judge  manages  to  overciome 
their  reluctance.  For  a  good  while  after  they  settled  in 
the  Transvaal  the  Boers  had  a  system  of  apprenticing 
Kafir  children  which  was  with  difiiculty  distinguishable 
from  predial  serfdom ;  and  though  they  have  (constantly 
denied  that  they  sam-tioned  either  the  kidnapping  of  chil- 
dren or  the  treatment  of  the  apprentices  as  slaves,  it  seems 
probable  that  in  some  parts  of  the  countrj^  these  abuses 
did  exist.  The  point,  however,  remains  controverted,  and 
it  seems  clear  that  no  such  practices  are  iiow  legal. 

Political  rights,  have,  of  course,  never  been  held  by  per- 
sons of  color  in  either  of  the  Dutch  republics,  nor  has  it 
ever  been  proposed  to  grant  them,  Boer  public  opinion 
would  scout  such  an  idea,  for  it  reproaches  the  people  of 
Cape  Colony  now  with  being  "  governed  by  black  men," 
because  the  electoral  franchise  is  there  enjoyed  by  a  few 
colored  men.  In  the  two  colonies  the  history  of  the  matter 
is  as  follows.    When  representative  government  was  estab- 


BLACKS  AND   WHITES 


373 


lislied,  and  the  electoral  fraiicliise  eoiifenvd  ii])()n  the  col- 
onists in  185IJ,  no  color  line  was  drawn ;  and  from  that 
time  onward  a  few  l)lack  people  have  voted,  thou^'h  of 
course  not  many  were  qualified  under  the  law  to  vote. 
Some  years  a<i'o,  however,  the  whites,  and  tlie  Duteli  party 
in  particular,  became  uneasy  at  the  strength  of  the  coh)red 
element,  though  it  did  not  vote  solid,  had  no  colored  lead- 
ers, and  was  important  only  in  a  very  few  constituencies^. 
Accordingly,  an  act  was  passed  in  l'S!)2,  establishing  a  com- 
bined educatiomd  and  i)roperty  (qualification  — that  is  to 
say,  the  ownership  of  a  house  or  otlier  building  of  the 
value  of  £75  (if?:^?'))  or  upwards,  or  the  being  in  receipt  of 
a  salary  of  £50  (.$250)  per  annum,  with  the  ability  to  sign 
one's  name  and  write  (me's  address  and  occupation.  This 
act,  which  did  not  api)ly  to  those  already  registered  in  any 
particular  district  and  claiming  to  be  re-register(Hl  therein, 
is  expected  to  keep  down  the  number  of  colored  voters; 
and  as  it  applies  to  whites  also,  there  is  no  inequality  of 
treatment.  Tribal  natives,  of  (rourse,  never  had  the  fran- 
chise at  all.  Neitlier  the  natives— the  most  substantial 
and  best  educated  among  whom  possess  the  qualifications 
required— nor  their  friends  comj)lain  of  this  law,  which 
may  be  defended  on  the  ground  that,  while  admitting 
those  people  of  color  whose  intelligence  fits  them  for  the 
exercise  of  i)olitical  ])Ower,  it  excludes  a  large  mass  whose 
ignorance  and  inditference  to  public  questions  would  make 
them  the  victims  of  rich  and  unscrupulous  candidates.  It 
is,  perhaps,  less  open  to  objection  than  some  of  the  at- 
tempts recently  made  in  the  Southern  States  of  America 
to  evade  the  provisions  of  the  amendments  to  the  federal 
Constitution  under  whicli  negroes  obtained  the  suffrage. 
In  Natal  nearly  all  the  Kafirs  live  under  native  law,  and 
have  thus  been  outside  the  representative  system ;  but  the 

24* 


M 


m 


♦ .[ 


J 


i\ 


■I 

t'l 


J! 


!'.' 


d 


374 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


Governor  lias  i)ower  to  jidinit  a  Kaflr  to  tlie  suffrage,  and 
this  has  been  done  in  a  few  instan(!es.  As  stated  in  Chap- 
ter XVIII,  tlie  rapid  inerease  of  Indian  innnijii-nnts  in  tliat 
colony  alarmed  the  whites,  and  led  to  the  passinji',  in  189G, 
of  an  act  which  will  practically  debar  these  inin)i<j:rants 
from  political  rights,  as  coming  from  a  country  in  wliich 
no  representative  institutions  exist.  Thus  Natal  also  has 
managed  to  exclude  colored  people  without  making  <^olor 
the  nominal  ground  of  disability.  I  need  hardly  say  that 
whoever  has  the  suffrage  is  also  eligible  for  election  to 
the  legislature.  No  person  of  color  is  now,  however,  a 
member  of  either  chamber  in  either  colonv. 

It  is  easy  for  people  in  Europe,  who  have  had  no  expe- 
rience of  the  presence  among  tlu^m  of  a  semi-civilized  race, 
destitute  of  the  ideas  and  habits  which  lie  at  the  basis  of 
free  government,  to  condemn  the  action  of  these  colonies 
in  seeking  to  preserve  a  decisive  electoral  majority  for  the 
whites.  But  any  one  who  has  studied  the  question  on  the 
spot,  and  especially  any  one  who  has  seen  the  evils  which 
in  America  have  followed  the  grant  of  the  suffrage  to  per- 
sons unfit  for  it,  will  form  a  more  charital)le  judgment. 
It  would  be  impolitic  to  exclude  jieople  mei-ely  on  the  score 
of  their  race.  There  ^re  among  the  educated  Kafirs  and 
Indians  persons  quite  as  capable  as  the  average  man  of 
European  stock,  and  it  is  wholesome  that  the  white,  too 
apt  to  despise  his  colored  neighbor,  should  be  made  to 
feel  this,  as  it  is  also  right  that  the  colored  man,  as  an 
elector,  should  have  some  weight  in  the  community,  and 
be  entitled  to  call  on  his  representative  to  listen  to  and 
express  the  demands  he  may  make  on  behalf  of  his  own 
race.  As  the  number  of  educated  and  property-holding 
natives  increases  they  w^ll  naturally  come  to  form  a  larger 
element  in  the  electorate,  and  will  be  a  useful  one.    But 


BLACKS  AND   WIIITKS 


:i7n 


to  toss  the  pift  of  political  {jower  into  the  laj)  of  a  imilti- 
tude  of  persons  wlio  are  not  only  ij^niorant,  hut  in  mind 
rather  children  than  men,  is  not  to  confer  a  boon,  l»nt  to 
inflict  an  injury.  So  far  as  I  could  judp',  this  is  the  sicw 
of  the  most  sensible  natives  in  Cape  (N)h>ny  itself,  and  of 
the  missionaries  also,  who  have  been  the  steadiest  friends 
of  their  race.  What  is  most  really  desiral>K'  is  to  safejjjuard 
the  private?  ri«ihts  of  the  native,  and  to  secure  for  him  his 
due  share  of  tlie  land,  by  retainin*;  '.vhich  he  will  retain  a 
measure  of  independence.  The  less  he  is  thrown  into  the 
whirlpool  of  party  politics  the  better. 

Let  me  apun  rejjcat  that  there  is  at  present  no  seri- 
ous friction  between  the  black  aiul  the  white  people  in 
South  Africa.  Thoujjch  the  attitude  of  most  of  the  whites- 
there  are,  of  course,  many  exceptions— is  contemi>tuoiis, 
unfriendly,  and  even  suspicious,  the  black  man  accei)ts  the 
superiority  of  the  white  as  part  of  the  order  of  nature. 
He  is  too  low  down,  too  completely  severed  from  the 
white,  to  feel  indignant.  Even  the  few  ediicated  natives 
are  too  well  aware  of  the  gulf  that  di\ides  their  own 
people  from  the  European  to  resent,  except  in  specially 
aggravated  cases,  the  attitude  of  the  latter.  Each  race 
goes  its  own  way  and  lives  its  own  life. 

The  condition  of  the  wild  or  tribal  Kafirs  can  be  much 
more  shortly  described,  for  they  have  as  yet  entered  into 
few  relations  witli  the  whites.  They  are  in  nuiny  diflPerent 
grades  of  civilization,  from  the  Basutos,  an  industrious 
and  settled  population,  among  whom  Christianity  has 
made  great  progress,  to  the  fierce  Matabili,  the  Barotse 
of  the  far  north,  and  the  Tongas  of  the  east  coast,  who 
remain  complete  savages.  There  are  i)ossibly  six  nnl- 
lions  of  Kafirs  living  under  their  chiefs  soutli  of  the 
Zambesi,  many  of  them  entirely  unaffected  by  Europeans, 


'i 

0' 


;i,li 


'i* 


;{7tt 


IMPliESSlONS  l)t'   SOUTH   AFlilCA 


with  noi^  even  a  white  T)iii«?istrate  or  a  native  commis- 
sioner to  colleet  liut-tax ;  and  l)esi(le8  these  there  are  the 
Korannas  (akin  to  the  Hushnien)  and  Nanuuiuas  (akin 
to  tlie  Hottentots)  of  the  desert  country  between  Beehu- 
anahind  and  tlie  Athintic.  In  most  of  the  districts  wliere 
a  re<jfnhir  liritisli  or  Boer  government  has  been  establislied 
the  tri))al  natives  are  now  settled  in  reguhir  h)cations, 
wliere  the  land  is  reserved  from  the  intrusion  of  Euro- 
peans. Here  they  live  nnder  their  chiefs  in  the  old  way 
(see  Chapter  X),  and  in  the  remoter  districts  continue 
to  practise  their  old  ceremonies.  In  Cape  Colony  and 
Natal,  however,  the  more  offensive  of  these  ceremonies  are 
now  forbidden  by  the  government.  Nowhere  is  anything 
done  for  their  edncation,  except  by  the  missionaries,  who, 
however,  receive  some  little  assistance  from  the  two  co- 
lonial governments.  Nevertheless,  the  ancient  rites  and 
beliefs  gradually  decay  wherever  the  whites  come,  and, 
except  beyond  the  Zambesi,  intertribal  wars  and  raids 
have  now  practically  ceased.  Yet  the  tribal  hatreds  sur- 
vive. Not  long  ago  the  Zulus  and  the  Kosa  Kafirs  em- 
ployed as  X)late-layers  on  the  Cape  government  railway 
fought  fiercely  with  each  other.  One  powerful  influence 
is  telling  upon  them,  even  where  they  live  uncontrolled  by 
any  white  government.  The  diamond-mines  at  Kimberley, 
the  gold-mines  in  the  Witwatersrand  and  in  various  parts 
of  Mashonaland  and  Matabililand,  offer  large  wages  for 
native  labor,  and  cannot,  except  at  Kimberley,  obtain  as 
much  native  labor  as  they  need.  To  obtain  these  wages 
a  steady  stream  of  Kafirs  sets  toward  these  mining  centers, 
not  only  from  Basutoland,  Natal,  and  Bechuanaland,  but 
also  from  the  Portuguese  territories,  where  the  Shangans 
live,  and  from  the  banks  of  the  Zambesi.  Most  of  the 
workmen  remain  for  a  few  weeks  or  months  only,  and 


BLACKS   AND    WIIITKS 


377 


by 

ley, 
arts 


3Ut 

fans 
the 
and 


return  home  wlien  they  have  earned  as  nineh  money  as 
will  purelmsc  two  oxen,  lirrotofore  the  usual  pri^'c  of  a  wife. 
They  are  paid  iu  Eii«rlish  coin,  and  thus  the  Knj,disii  twenty- 
shillini;^  ji^old  j)ie<'('  has  bcconu'  known  aiul  to-day  passes 
current  in  villages  where  n«>  white  nuin  has  yet  been  seen, 
even  beyond  the  Zandjesi,  on  the  shores  of  l^ake  lianj;- 
weolo.  With  the  use  of  coin  there  will  eonu^  in  tiuu'  a 
desire  for  European  ^'oods,  whieh,  in  its  turn,  will  draw 
more  labor  toward  the  mines,  and  p<'rhaps  at  last  create 
even  among  the  home-keepin<,'  Kafirs  a  disposition  to  till 
the  land  or  raise  cattle  for  sale.  The  destruction  of  cattle 
by  the  murrain  which  has  been  raj^injj:  over  the  country 
may  accelerate  this  change.  Already  wandering  traders 
and  gold-pro.spectors  traverse  regions  beyond  the  boi'd«'r 
of  civilization;  and  to  keep  these  peoi)le,  who  are  often 
reckless  and  lawless,  from  injuring  the  natives  and  pro- 
voking them  to  take  vengeance  on  the  next  white  man 
who  comes  their  way,  is  one  of  the  greatest  difficulties 
of  the  British  government,  a  dii!icnlty  aggravated  by  the 
absence  in  nearlv  all  cases  of  sufficient  legal  evidence— for 
all  over  South  Africa  native  eviden(M?  is  seldom  received 
against  a  white  num.  The  regions  in  which  white  infiu- 
enee  is  now  most  active,  and  which  will  nu)st  quickly 
become  assimilated  to  the  two  British  colonies,  are  those 
through  which  railways  are  now  being  constructed— 
Bechuanaland,  Matabililand,  and  Mashonaland.  Should 
the  mines  in  these  countries  turn  out  well,  and  means  be 
found  for  replacing  by  new  stock  the  cattle  that  have  per- 
ished, these  regions  may  in  fifteen  or  twenty  years  possess 
a  considerable  population  of  non-tribal  and  semi-eivilized 
natives.  Within  the  next  half-century  it  is  probable  that, 
at  least  in  the  British  territories  as  far  as  the  Zambesi,  as 
well  as  in  the  Transvaal  and  Swaziland,  the  power  of  the 


1'^ 


<V 


K 


Mifl 


,t '  > 


'    "itlm 
<  il  il 


f 


37S 


IMl'IiKSHIONS  OF  SOUTH   AFUKA 


cliiefH  will  have  prafiticrally  vanislnMl  mid  the  natives  be  in 
a  position  similar  to  that  wliich  tiiry  now  liold  in  Xatal 
and  tho  greater  part  of  ('a})(f  Colony;  that  is  to  say,  tlicy 
will  either  dwell  anion^  the  whites  nnder  the  ordinary  hiw, 
or  will  be  oeenpyinj^  reservations  under  tlie  eontrol  of  a 
FiUropean  maf^istrate,  tlieir  old  land  customs  having  been 
mostly  superseded  and  tlieir  heathen  rites  forbidden  or 
disused. 

Tlie  position  which  tho  whites  and  the  blacks  hold 
toward  one  another  in  South  Africa  is  sudicMently  similar 
to  that  of  the  two  races  in  the  Southern  States  of  America, 
to  make  a  short  comparison  between  the  two  cases  in- 
structive. There  are  no  doubt  many  differences.  In  the 
United  States  the  Southern  ne<;roes  are  stran<jjers  and 
therefore  isolat(!d,  with  no  su(!h  reserv^e  of  black  jieople 
liehind  them  as  the  Kafirs  have  in  the  rest  of  the  African 
continent.  In  South  Africa  it  is  the  whites  who  are 
stranifers  and  isohited,  and  thev  are  numericallv  inferior 
to  the  bla(^ks,  not,  as  in  America,  in  a  few  particular  areas 
(tin;  tliree  States  of  South  Carolina,  Mississippi,  and  Lou- 
isiana), but  all  over  the  country.  In  the  whole  United 
States  the  whites  are  to  tlu*  ])lacks  as  ten  to  (me ;  in 
Africa  south  of  the  Zambesi  it  is  the  blacks  who  are 
ten  to  one  to  the  whites.  Or  if  we  compare  the  Soutli 
African  colonies  and  republics  with  the  old  slave  States, 
the  blacks  are  in  the  former  nearlv  four  times  as  numer- 
ous  as  the  whites,  and  the  whites  in  the  latter  twiccj  as 
numerous  as  the  blacks.  In  point  of  natural  capacity  and 
force  of  character  the  Bantu  races  are  at  least  equal,  prob- 
ably superior,  to  the  negroes  brought  from  Africia  to 
North  America,  most  of  whom  seem  to  have  come  from 
the  Guinea  coasts.  But  in  point  of  education  and  in 
habits  of  industry  the  American  negroes  are  far  ahead  of 


hl.ACKS    ANI>    WIIITKS 


:<7S) 


law. 


tlio  South  AtVicmi ;  for  tlic  lattt'r  liav(»  not  hoow  sulijoctrd 
to  tlir  iiidiistriiil  trniniii^'  of  nrni'Iy  two  ('cTitnrics  of  plan- 
tation Ut'o,  or  (lonicstic  scrvirr,  wliil )iii|iarativ('ly  few 

have  liad  aiiv  industrial  contact  vvitli  white  workmen,  or 
any  stiintdation  like  tliat  whi<'li  the  fjrant  of  the  sntfra^'e 
aftei'  llie  War  of  Secession  has  ex«'rcised  upon  a  hirj^e 
section  (»f  tlie  American  nej^roes,  even  in  ]»laces  where  they 
liave  not  been  i»ermitted  {{>  turn  their  nominal  ri«;hts  to 
practical  account.  Tiie  American  ne^jn'ot'!^  »n'«%  moreover, 
all  in»minally  Christians;  the  South  African  Katirs  nearly 
all  heathens.  Yet,  after  allowing'  for  these  and  other  mi'.ior 
points  of  <'ontrast,  the  broad  fact  remains  that  in  both 
countries  we  see  two  races  in  vei'V  ditferent  stajxes  of  civili- 
zation  dwellin<''  side  })v  side,  yet  not  miniilin<r  nor  likely  to 
mingle.  In  ]M>th  countries  one  race  rules  ovei'  the  other. 
The  stronirer  desjases  and  dislikes  tla*  weaker;  tlie  weaker 
su])mits  ])atiently  to  ihe  sti'onjjfer.  But  the  weaker  makes 
in  education  and  in  ])roj)erty  a  pro«'Tess  which  will  some 
day  brin*::  it  mu<'h  nearer  to  tlie  stronji'er  than  it  is  now. 
The  social  and  political  troubles  which  the  juxtaposi- 
tion of  the  two  races  lias  caused  in  North  America,  and 
which  have  induced  many  Americ^'ins  to  wish  that  it  were 
possilde  to  trans})ort  the  whole  seven  millions  of  S(mth<'rn 
neiun'oes  l^ack  to  the  Xitrer  oi'  the  Con«ro.  have  as  yet 
seareely  show^n  themselves  in  South  Africa.  Neither  in 
the  Bi'itish  colonies  nor  in  the  Boer  re])ublies  is  tlu're  any 
cause  for  present  apprehension.  The  colored  peojtle  are 
submissive  and  not  resentful.  They  have,  moreover,  a 
certain  number  of  friends  and  advocates  in  the  leo-islatures 
of  the  coLmies,  and  a  certain  anumnt  of  puldic  o])ini(m, 
the  opinion  of  the  best  pai't  of  the  community,  disposed 
to  ])rotect  them.  Nevertheless,  no  traveler  can  study  the 
color  problem  in  South  Africa  without  anxiety— anxiety 


I  'i>l 


( I 


ii',1 


'( 


tj 


wmwmimnt^..  ■ 


380 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


not  for  the  present,  but  for  the  futnn;,  in  wliioh  tlie  se(Hls 
that  are  now  being  sown  will  have  si)rung  up  and  grown 
to  maturity. 

What  is  the  future  of  tlie  Kafirs  likely  to  be  ?  Though 
a  writer  may  propliesy  with  an  easy  mind  when  he  knows 
that  the  trutli  or  error  of  the  prophecy  will  not  be  tested 
till  long  after  he  has  himself  quitted  the  world,  still  it  is 
right  to  make  the  usual  ai)ologies  for  venturing  to  pi-ophesy 
at  all.  These  apologies  being  taken  as  made,  let  us  con- 
sider what  is  likely  to  eome  to  pass  in  South  Africa. 

Thti  Kafirs  will  stay  where  they  are  and  form  the  bulk 
of  the  popidation  all  over  South  Africa.  Some  sanguine 
men  think  they  will  move  off  to  the  hotter  north,  as  in 
America  the  center  of  negro  population  has  shifted  south- 
ward toward  the  (lulf  of  Mexico.  This  is  improbable, 
because  the  South  African  white  seems  resolved  to  rely 
upon  natives  for  all  the  harder  and  rougher  kiiuls  of  labor, 
not  to  add  that,  although  the  European  can  thrive  and 
work,  the  Kafir  is  more  ^rldy  the  child  of  the  soil  and  of 
the  climate.  And  not  only  will  he  stay,  but,  to  all  ap- 
pearances, he  will  increase  faster  than  does  the  white  man. 

The  Kafirs,  now  divided  into  many  tribes  and  speaking 
many  languages  and  dialects,  will  lose  their  present  tri- 
bal organization,  their  languages,  their  distinctive  habits. 
Whether  some  sort  of  native  li))(/ua  Franca  M'ill  spring 
up,  or  whether  they  Avill  all  come  to  speak  English,  is 
doubtful ;  but  probably  in  the  long  run  English  will  pre- 
vail and  become  the  common  speech  of  the  southern  half 
of  the  continent.  They  Avill  also  lose  their  heathenism 
(though  many  superstitions  will  survive),  and  will  l)ecome, 
in  name  at  least.  Christians.  Thus  they  will  foi-m  to  a  far 
greater  extent  than  now  a  homogeneous  mass  adhering  to 
the  same  ideas  and  customs. 


liLAC'KS  AND   WHITES 


381 


^> 


tri- 
)its. 
ing 
is 
wc- 
lalf 
isin 
pine, 
far 
to 


While  tlms  constituting  one  vast  black  community, 
tlicy  will  rt'niain  as  sluu'ply  marked  off  from  the  whites  as 
tliey  are  to-tlay.  That  there  will  be  no  intermarriage  may 
safelv  be  assumed  from  the  fact  that  mixture  of  blood 
has  greatly  diminislied  since  the  days  of  slavery,  just  as  it 
has  diminished  in  the  Southern  States  of  America  now. 
White  opinion  universally  condemns  it,  and  rightly,  for 
as  things  are  now  the  white  race  would  lose  more  by  the 
admixture  than  the  colored  race  would  gain. 

The  Kafirs  will  be  far  more  generally  educated  than 
they  are  now,  and  will  have  deveh)j)ed  a  much  higher  in- 
telligence. That  they  will  renuiin  inferior  to  the  whites 
in  all  intellectual  pursuits  and  in  most  handicrafts  may 
be  concluded  from  American  experience ;  but  they  will 
doubtless  be  able  to  compete  with  white  men  in  many 
trades,  will  to  some  extent  enter  the  i)rofessions,  will  ac- 
quire propei'ty,  and  (assuming  the  law  to  remain  as  at 
present)  will  form  a  much  larger  part,  though  probably 
for  a  very  long  time  a  minority,  of  the  electorate.  From 
among  them  there  will  doubtless  arise  men  fit  to  lead  them 
for  social  and  political  ])ur})oses.  A  talent  for  public 
speaking  is  already  remarked  as  one  of  their  gifts. 

Thus  the  day  will  arrive  wIkmi  South  Africa  will  see 
itself  filled  by  a  large  colored  population,  tolei'ably  homo- 
geneous, using  the  same  language,  having  forgotten  its 
ancient  tribal  feuds,  and  not,  like  the  peoj)le  of  India, 
divided  by  caste  or  by  the  mutual  hatred  of  Hindus  and 
Mussulmans.  Most  of  this  poj)ulation  will  be  poor,  and 
it  may,  unless  suc(!essive  colonies  are  led  off  to  the  more 
thinly  peopled  parts  of  Afi-ica,  tread  hard  upon  the  means 
of  subsistence  which  the  land  oifers ;  I  say  the  land,  for  the 
mines— or  at  least  the  gold-mines— \vill  have  been  ex- 
hausted long  before  the  day  we  are  considering  arrives. 


I'll 

m 


V 


\'n 


382 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AB^RICA 


When  will  that  day  arrive  ?  Probably  not  for  at  least  a 
century,  possil>ly  not  for  two  centuries.  Fast  as  tlie  world 
moves  in  our  time,  it  must  take  several  generations  to 
develop  a  race  so  backward  as  the  Kafirs.  Many  political 
changes  may  occur  before  then ;  but  political  changes  arr 
not  likely  to  make  much  difference  to  a  process  like  this, 
which  goes  on  under  natural  laws— laws  that  will  continue 
to  work  whatever  may  happen  to  the  Boers,  and  whatever 
may  be  the  future  relations  of  the  colonies  to  the  mother 
country.  It  is  only  some  great  change  in  human  thought 
and  feeling,  or  some  great  discovery  in  the  physical  world, 
that  can  be  imagined  as  likely  to  affect  the  progress  of  the 
natives  and  the  attitude  of  the  whites  toward  them. 

Wlien,  perhaps  in  the  twenty-first  century,  the  native 
popidation  has  reached  the  point  of  progress  we  have  been 
imagining,  the  position  may  be  for  both  races  a  grave  or 
even  a  perilous  one,  if  the  feeling  and  behavior  of  the 
whites  continue  to  be  what  they  are  now.  The  pres- 
ent contented  acquiescence  of  the  colored  people  in  the 
dominance  of  the  whites,  and  the  absence  of  resentment 
at  the  contempt  displayed  toward  them,  cannot  be  ex- 
pected from  a  people  whose  inferiority,  though  still  real, 
will  be  much  less  palpable.  And  if  trouble  comes,  the 
preponderance  of  numbers  on  the  black  side  may  make  it 
more  serious  than  it  could  be  in  the  United  States,  where 
the  Southern  whites  are  only  the  outmost  fringe  of  an 
enormous  white  nation.  These  anxieties  are  little  felt, 
these  problems  are  little  canvassed,  in  South  Africa,  for 
things  which  will  not  happen  in  our  time  or  in  the  time 
of  our  children  are  for  us  as  though  they  would  never 
happen ;  and  we  have  become  so  accustomed  to  see  the  un- 
expected happen  as  to  forget  that  where  undoubted  natural 
causes  are  at  work— causes  whose  working  history  has  ex- 


BLACKS  AND   WHITES 


383 


amined— results  may  be  practically  certain,  even  though 
the  time  when  and  the  precise  form  in  which  they  will  ar- 
rive may  be  uncertain.  There  are,  however,  some  thought- 
ful men  in  the  colonies  who  see  the  magnitude  of  the 
issues  involved  in  this  native  problem.  They  hold,  so  far 
as  I  could  gather  their  views,  that  the  three  chief  things 
to  be  done  now  are  to  save  the  natives  from  intoxicating 
li<pior,  which  injures  them  even  more  than  it  docs  the 
whites,  to  enact  good  land  laws,  which  shall  keep  them 
from  flocking  as  a  loafing  proletariate  into  the  towns,  and 
just  labor  laws,  and  to  give  them  much  better  oppor- 
tunities than  they  now  have  of  industrial  traiinng.  Manual 
education  and  the  habit  of  steady  industry  are  quite  as 
much  needed  as  book  education,  a  conclusion  at  which  the 
friends  of  the  American  negro  have  also  arrived.  Beyond 
this  the  main  thing  to  be  done  seems  to  be  to  soften  the 
feelings  of  the  average  white  and  to  mend  his  manners. 
At  present  he  considers  the  native  to  exist  solely  for  his 
own  benefit.  He  is  harsh  or  gentle  according  to  his  own 
temper;  but  whetlier  harsh  or  gentle,  he  is  apt  to  think 
of  the  black  man  much  as  he  thinks  of  an  ox,  and  to 
ignore  a  native's  rights  when  they  are  inconvenient  to 
himself. 

Could  he  be  got  to  feel  more  kindly  towai'd  the  native, 
and  to  treat  him,  if  not  as  an  e(iual,  which  he  is  not,  yet 
as  a  child,  this  aspect  of  the  jn'oblem  would  be  altered. 


Mi 


I    M 


(>■ 


I 


CHAPTER  XXII 


Pi 


F I    '! 


MISSIONS 

THE  strength  and  vitality  of  a  race,  and  its  power  of 
holding  its  own  in  the  world  depend  less  on  the  quick- 
ness of  iib  intelligence  than  on  the  solidity  of  its  character. 
Its  character  depends  nion  the  moral  ideas  which  govern 
its  life,  and  on  the  habits  in  which  those  ideas  take  shape ; 
and  these,  in  their  turn,  depend  very  largely  upon  the  con- 
ceptions which  the  race  has  formed  of  religion,  and  on  the 
influence  that  religion  has  over  it.  This  is  especially  true 
of  peoples  in  the  earlier  stages  of  civilization.  Their  social 
virtues,  the  beliefs  and  principles  which  hold  them  together 
and  influence  their  conduct,  rest  upon  and  are  shaped  by 
their  beliefs  regarding  the  invisible  world  and  its  forces. 
Races  in  which  religious  ideas  are  vague  and  feeble, 
wanting  the  stronger  bonds,  seldom  attain  to  a  vigorous 
national  life,  because  they  want  one  of  the  most  effective 
bonds  of  cohesion  and  some  of  the  strongest  motives  that 
rule  conduct.  It  may  doubtless  be  said  that  the  religion 
of  a  people  is  as  much  an  effect  as  a  cause,  or,  in  other 
words,  that  the  finer  or  poorer  quality  of  a  race  is  seen  in 
the  sort  of  religion  it  makes  for  itself,  the  higher  races 
producing  nobler  religious  ideas  and  more  impressive 
mythologies,  just  as  they  produce  richer  and  more  ex- 

384 


I 


MISSIONS 


385 


[en  in 
I races 
fessive 
|e  ex- 


pressive languafjes,  'cvertlieless,  it  remains  true  that  a 
relij^ion,  once  t'oriued,  becomes  a  })otent  factor  in  the 
future  stren<i^th  and  pro<^ress  of  a  peoph'.  Now  tli(>  re- 
lif?i()us  ideas  of  the  Bantu  races,  as  of  otlier  ne<iToes,  liave 
been  scanty,  poor,  and  unfruitful.  And  accordin^rly,  (uie 
cannot  meditate  upon  their  condition  and  endeavor  to 
forecast  their  i)i'ogfress  -svitliout  givinjr  some  thou<^ht  to 
the  influence  which  better  ideas,  and  especially  those  em- 
bodied in  Christianity,  may  have  upon  them. 

Neither  the  Kafirs  nor  tlie  Hottentots  have  h;id  a  reli- 
gfion  in  our  sense  of  the  word.  They  luid  no  deities,  no 
priesthood,  no  regular  forms  of  worship.  They  were, 
when  Europeans  discovered  .hem,  still  in  the  stage  in 
which  most,  if  not  all,  ])nmitive  races  would  seem  to  Lave 
once  been— that  of  fearing  and  seeking  tc  pr<>pitiate  na- 
ture spirits  and  the  ghosts  of  the  dead,  a  foi'm  of  sui)er- 
stition  in  which  there  was  scarcely  a  trace  of  morality. 
Hence  the  first  task  of  the  missionaries  who  came  amon^ 
them  was  to  create  a  religious  sense,  to  give  them  the  (con- 
ception of  an  omnipotent  spii-itual  power  outside  natural 
objects  and  above  man,  and  to  make  them  regard  this 
power  as  the  source  of  moral  ideas  and  the  author  of  moral 
commands.     To  do  this  has  ])een  a  difficult  task. 

Besides  this  constructive  work,  which  was  less  needed 
in  scmie  other  more  advanced  heathen  racies,  the  mission- 
aries had  also  a  destructive  work  to  do.  Though  the  Kafirs 
had  no  religion,  they  had  a  multitude  of  superstitious  rites 
and  usages  closely  intertwined  with  the  whole  of  their  life 
and  with  what  one  may  call  their  i)olitical  system.  These 
usages  were  so  repugnant  to  Christian  morality,  and  often 
to  common  decency,  that  it  became  necessary  to  attack 
them  and  to  require  the  convert  to  renounce  them  alto- 
gether.    Renunciation,  however,  meant  a  severance  from 

25 


1 1  '1 


1 


f 

ill 


,('. 


38tj 


IMPRESSIONS   OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


VI 


I 


the  life  of  the  tribe,  eoiiteinpt  and  displeasure  from  the 
tribesmen,  and  possibly  the  loss  of  tribal  rights.  These 
were  evils  which  it  r('(iiiired  eourage  and  conviction  to 
face,  nor  had  the  missionary  any  temporal  benefits  to  offer 
by  way  of  compensation.  There  was,  however,  very  little 
direct  perst'(;ution,  because  there  were  no  gods  who  would 
be  incensed,  and  the  witch-doctors  were  a  less  formidable 
o})ponent  than  a  regular  priesthood  would  have  been.  The 
chiefs  were  often  friendly,  for  they  recognized  the  value  of 
missionary  knowledge  and  counsel.  Even  the  ferocious 
Mosilikatze  showed  kindness  to  Robert  Moffat,  and  Liv- 
ingstone complained  far  more  of  the  Boers  than  he  ever 
did  of  Kafir  enemies.  Lo  Bengula  protected  the  mission- 
aries ;  Gungunhana  listened,  and  made  his  chiefs  listen,  to 
their  discourses,  though  his  nearest  approach  to  conver- 
sion was  his  expression  of  detestation  for  Judas  Iseariot. 
But  it  rarely  befell  that  a  chief  himself  accepted  Chris- 
tianity, which  would  have  meant,  among  other  things,  the 
departure  of  all  his  wives  but  one,  and  possibly  the  loss  of 
his  hold  upon  liis  tribe.  All  these  things  being  considered, 
it  need  excite  no  surprise  that  the  gospel  should  have 
made  comparatively  little  progress  among  the  wild  or 
tribal  Kafirs. 

It  has  been  preached  to  them  for  nearly  a  century,  by 
German  (chiefly,  I  think,  Moravian)  and  French,  as  well 
as  by  English,  Scottish,  and  American  missionaries.  At 
l)resent  there  are  not  a  few  British  societies  and  denom- 
inations in  the  field.  The  French  Protestants  have  done 
some  excellent  work,  especially  in  Basutoland,  and  have 
also  stations  near  the  east  coast  and  on  the  Upper  Zambesi. 
There  are  also  French  Roman  Catholic  missions,  mostly 
in  the  hands  of  Jesuit  fathers,  many  of  whom  are  men  of 
learning  and  ability.     BetAveeu  the  Roman  Catholics,  the 


MISSIONS 


387 


a  the 
riiese 
m  to 
1  offer 

little 
^vould 
klable 
The 
,lue  of 
oeious 
il  Liv- 
e  ever 
issioii- 
teii,  to 
oiiver- 
icariot. 

Chris- 
Lgs,  the 

loss  of 

idered, 

have 

^ild  or 

iry,  by 
IS  well 
At 
enom- 
done 
have 
imbesi. 
mostly 
men  of 
■ics,  the 


e 


Protestant  Episcopalians  (Chnrdi  of  England),  and  the 
missionaries  of  the  English  Noiieonforniists  and  Scottish 
or  French  Presbyterians  there  is  little  intercourse  and 
no  co(')pcration.  The  absence  of  it  here,  as  in  other  mis- 
sion fields,  puzzles  the  native.  I  was  told  of  an  English 
(Protestant  Episcopal)  clergyman  who  nnide  it  one  of  his 
prime  objects  to  warn  the  Kafirs  against  attending  the 
services  of  the  French  Protestant  missionaries,  wlioni  he 
apparently  regarded  as  outside  the  pale  of  the  true  church. 
In  the  Boer  republics  there  are  fewer  missions  in  pr()i)or- 
tion  to  the  number  of  natives  than  in  British  territories, 
but  no  district,  except  the  deserts  of  the  west,  seems  to 
be  wholly  un])r<)vided  for,  and  in  sonu*  cases  stations  have 
been  pushed  far  beyond  the  limits  of  European  adminis 
tration,  as,  for  instance,  among  the  Barotse  who  dwell 
north  of  the  Upper  Zambesi.  The  native  congregations 
are  usually  small,  and  the  careers  of  the  converts  not 
always  satisfactory.  This  is  so  natural  thai  it  is  odd  to 
find  Europeans,  and  most  conspicuously  those  whose  own 
life  is  not  a  model  of  Christian  morality,  continually  growl- 
ing and  sneering'  against  the  missionaries  because  their 
converts  do  not  all  turn  out  saints.  The  savage  is  unstable 
in  character,  and  baptism  does  not  necessarily  extinguisli 
either  his  old  habits  or  the  hold  which  native  superstitious 
have  upon  him.  It  is  in  this  instability  of  his  will,  and 
his  proneness  to  yield  to  drink  or  some  other  temptation, 
rather  than  in  his  intellect,  that  the  weakness  of  the  savage 
lies.  x\n(l  a  man  with  hundreds  of  generations  of  sav- 
agery behind  him  is  still,  and  must  be,  in  many  respects 
a  savage,  even  though  he  reads  and  writes,  and  wears 
European  clothes,  and  possibly  even  a  white  necktie. 
The  Kafirs  are  not  such  bad  Christians  as  the  Frankish 
warriors  were  for  two  or  three  generations  after  the  con- 


II 


III' 


iu 


388 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFliICA 


i 


version  of  Clovis.  We  must  wait  for  several  generations 
before  we  ean  jiidiTe  fairly  of  the  influence  of  iiis  new  re- 
li<jfi<)n  upon  the  mind  of  a  Kafir  whose  ancestors  had  no 
relij^ion  at  all,  and  were  ruled  by  the  lowest  forms  of 
sui)erstition. 

These  facts  are  better  recognized  by  tin;  missionaries 
to-day  than  they  were  sixty  years  ago,  and  they  have  in 
(!onse(inence  made  some  changes  in  their  methods.  They 
are  no  longer  so  ?nixious  to  bai)tize,  or  so  apt  to  reckon 
success  by  >«i  r;  iber  of  their  convei'ts.  They  are  more 
cautious  in  '^'Um]  ^ng  native  i)astors.  The  aid  of  such 
l)astors  is  in  .  -u.-able,  but  the  importance  of  the  ex- 
ami)le  which  the  nati\  _,>reacht'r  or  teacher  sets  makes  it 
necessary  to  be  careful  in  selection.  Tlie  dogma  of  the 
(Miu.ility  of  the  bla(*k  man  and  the  white,  which  was 
warmly  insisted  on  in  the  old  days,  and  often  roused  the 
wrath  of  the  Boers,  has  now  been  silently  dropped.  It 
was  a  dogma  wholesome  to  inculcate  so  far  as  ecpiality 
of  protection  was  concerned,  but  its  wider  ai)plication  led 
the  early  philanthro]^ists  of  South  Africa,  as  it  led  their 
excellent  contemportiries,  the  abolitionists  of  America,  to 
some  strange  conclnsions.  Perceiving  that  other  influ- 
ences ought  to  go  hand  in  hand  with  religion  in  helping 
the  natives  forward,  the  missionaries  now  devote  them- 
selves more  than  formerly  to  secular  instruction,  and 
endeavor  to  train  the  people  to  habits  of  industry.  The 
work  of  education  is  indeed  entirely  in  their  hands. 
Si)ecial  mention  is  due  to  one  admirable  institution,  that 
which  was  founded  by  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland  at 
Lovedale,  in  the  Eastern  Province,  not  far  from  King 
William's  Town,  nearly  fifty  years  ago.  Conducted  on 
wholly  non-sectarian  lines,  it  receives  colored  people,  to- 
gether Mdth  some  whites,  not  only  from  the  Colony,  but 


liiaihtfiiii 


MISSIONS 


aso 


3d  on 
?,  to- 
,  but 


from  all  parts  of  Africa,— there  are  even  Galla  boys  from 
the  borders  of  Abyssinia  in  it,— and  ^nves  an  excellent 
education,  fittinj.';  youn^-  men  and  women  not  only  for  tlie 
native  nunistry,  but  for  the  professicms ;  and  it  is  admitted 
even  by  those  who  are  least  friendly  to  missionary  work- 
to  have  rendered  immense  services  to  the  natives.  1  vis- 
ited it,  and  was  <;reatly  struck  by  the  tone  and  spirit  which 
seemed  to  pervade  it,  a  si)irit  whose  results  are  seen  in 
the  character  and  careers  of  nniny  amon^-  its  ji'radnates. 
A  race  in  the  present  condition  of  the  Kafirs  needs  noth- 
ing more  than  the  creation  of  a  body  of  intellip'nt  and 
educated  persons  of  its  own  blood,  who  are  able  to  enter 
into  the  difliculties  of  tiieir  hunujler  kinstV  ji  d  guide 
them  wiselv.  Dr.  Stewart,  who  has  dii'cctcd  tl  institu- 
tion  for  many  years,  possesses  that  best  kin  \  .  '  missionary 
temperament,  in  which  a  hopeful  spirit  aiui  na  inexhaus- 
tible sympathy  are  balanced  by  Scottish  shrewdness  and 
%j  cool  judgment. 

One  of  the  greatest  difficulties  which  confront  the  mis- 
sionaries is  to  know  hoAv  to  deal  with  polygamy,  a  practice 
deeply  rooted  in  Kafir  life.  A  visitor  from  Europe  is  at 
first  surprised  to  find  how  seriously  they  regard  it,  and 
asks  whether  the  examjde  of  the  worthies  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament does  not  make  it  hard  for  them  to  refuse  l)a])tism 
to  the  native  who  seeks  it,  though  he  has  more  than  one 
wife.  The  clergy  of  the  Church  of  England,  however, 
and  those  of  the  French  Protestant  Church,  are  unani- 
mous in  holding  that,  although  they  may  properly  admit 
polygamists  as  catechumens,  they  should  not  bnptize  such 
a  one  ;  and  they  say  that  the  native  pastors  hold  this  view 
even  more  strongly  than  they  do  themselves.  l*olygamy 
is  so  bound  up  with  heathen  customs,  and  ex(»rts,  in  their 
view,  so  entirely  baneful  an  influence  upon  native  society, 

25* 


V 


11 


\ 


M     t 


390 


IMriiKKSIONS  or   SOUTH   AFIMCA 


tlmt  it  inu.st  be  at  all  luizanls  rc^sisted  uiid  coTKlcmucd.^ 
One  is  remiiidcd  of  the  Neoplatonie  philosoplicrs,  the  last 
professors  of  the  Platonic,  acadi'niy  at  Athens,  who  in  the 
sixth  ccntnry  of  onr  era  son^ht  an  asylum  from  Christian 
perseention  at  the  e(mrt  of  Cliosroes  Anurshirwan,  in  Per- 
sia. They  forced  themselves  to  tolerate  the  other  nsa<;es 
of  the  people  amonj?  whom  they  came,  Imt  i)oly<j:amy  was 
too  much  for  them,  and  rather  than  dwell  amon^  those 
who  practised  it,  they  returned  to  the  unfriendly  soil  of 
the  lioman  empire. 

The  missionaries,  and  especially  those  of  the  London 
IMissionary  Society,  played  at  one  time  a  much  more  pnmi- 
inent  part  in  polities  than  they  now  sustain.  Within  and 
on  the  boi'ders  of  Cape  CV)lony  they  were,  for  the  lii'st  sixty 
years  of  the  present  century,  the  leading  champions  of 
the  natives,  and  as  they  enjoyed  the  support  of  an  active 
body  of  opinion  in  Enjj^land  and  Scotland,  they  had  much 
influence  in  Parliament  and  with  the  Colonial  Office.  Out- 
side the  Colony  they  were  often  the  princi[)al  advisers  of 
the  native  cliiefs  (as  their  brethren  were  at  the  same  time 
in  the  islands  of  the  Pacific),  and  held  a  place  not  unlike 
that  of  the  bishops  in  Gaul  in  the  fifth  century  of  our  era. 
Since,  in  advocating  the  cause  of  the  natives,  they  had 
often  to  complain  of  the  behavior  of  the  whites,  and  since, 
whenever  a  chief  came  into  collision  with  the  emigrant 
Boers  or  with  colonial  frontiersmen,  they  became  the 
channel  by  which  the  chief  stated  his  case  to  the  British 
government,  they  incurred  the  bittci*  hostility  of  the  Boers 
and  some  dislike  even  in  the  Colony.  To  this  old  cause 
much  of  the  unpopularity  that  still  attaches  to  them  seems 
due.     Unpopular  they  certainly  are.     They  are  reproached 

1  After  listening  to  their  arguments  I  did  not  doubt  that  they  were 
right. 


AflSSTONS 


noi 


fere 


witli  tho  pnncity  of  tlioir  converts,  mid  tluit  l>y  white  im-n 
viioso  own  treutincnt  of  the  Kafirs  tni;,'iit  well  make  tlie 
wiiite  man's  roli^ion  odicnis  to  a  native.  Tl.ey  are  also 
aecusod  of  abnsinj;  tlieir  ])osition  to  eni'ieh  themselves  l)y 
trade  with  the  Kafirs.  This  al>Mse  has  sometimes  oeenrred, 
and  elearly  ou^ht  to  be  elieeked  by  the  home  s(M'ieties. 
Bnt  probably  it  does  not  dis<;u.'<t  the  wamlerini;'  whit(^ 
trader  anv  more  than  the  fact  that  the  niissionarv  often 
warns  the  native  ajjainst  tlie  exorbitant  prices  which  the 
trader  demands  for  his  j^oods.  They  are  bhimed  for  mak- 
ing the  converted  Kafir  iippi.sh,  and  teliinu;  him  that  he  is 
as  good  as  a  whit(^  man,  an  offense  wliieli  lias  no  doubt 
been  often  committed.  A  graver  allegation,  to  which  Mr. 
Theal  has  given  .some  countenance  in  his  historical  writ- 
ings, is  that  they  u.sed  to  bring  groundless  or  exaggerat<'d 
charges  against  the  I^oer  farniei's,  and  always  sided  with 
the  natives,  M'hatever  tli(  merits  (»f  the  case.  I  do  not 
venture  to  pronounce  on  the  truth  of  this  allegation, 
which  it  would  take  much  time  and  la])or  to  sift.  As 
there  liave  been  some  few  missionari(>s  who.se  denu\inor 
was  not  creditable  to  their  i)rofession,  so  there  have 
doubtless  been  instances  in  which  partizan  ardor  betr.ayed 
them  into  exaggerations.  But  whoever  remenil)ers  that 
but  for  the  missionaries  the  natives  would  luive  lacked  all 
local  protection,  and  that  it  was  only  through  the  mission- 
aries that  news  of  injustice  or  cruelty  prac^tised  on  a  native 
could  reach  the  cars  of  the  British  government,  will  look 
leniently  on  the  errors  of  honest  zeal,  ami  will  I'cjoice  that 
ministers  of  religion  were  found  to  cham})ion  the  caus(i  of 
the  "weaker  race  and  keep  the  home  government  alive  to  a 
sense  of  one  of  its  first  duties. 

Notwithstanding  the  slowness  of  the  progress  hitherto 
made,  the  extinction  of  heathenism  in  (South  Africa  may 


'■ 


t, 


:m)2 


IMl'KKS.SlUNS  OF   bUUTli   Al'lClCA 


])o  (leomcd  certain,  and  oortain  at  no  distiuit  dato.  Thoro 
is  lioro  no  ancient  ami  hi^,di!y  orpinizcd  system  of  beliefs 
and  doctrines,  su"l  as  Hinduism  and  Islam  are  in  India, 
to  resist  the  solvent  power  wliieli  lOnropean  civilization 
exerts.  In  forty  years  there  will  prol)ahly  l)e  no  more 
pa<;an  rites  practised  in  Cape  Colony.  In  ei^dity  years 
there  will  he  none  in  Matai)ililan(l,  or  [»erhaps'X!V«'n  sooner, 
if  the  ^old-reefs  turn  out  well ;  for  thouj^di  a  mininjj^-camp 
is  not  a  s(!liool  of  Christianity,  it  is  a  destroyer  of  pajran- 
ism.  Already  I  found,  in  traversiu}?  Mashonaland,  that 
the  poor  j^hosts  were  ceasing  to  receive  their  accustomed 
otTerinjj:s  of  natives  l)eer. 

What  will  happen  wlien  heathenism  and  the  trihal 
sy.stem  have  vanished  away?  Such  morality,  such  }»rin- 
ciples  of  manly  conduct  as  the  natives  now  have,  are  bound 
np  with  their  j^diost- worship  and  still  more  with  their 
tribal  system,  which  prescribes  loyalty  to  the  chief,  cour- 
age in  war,  devotion  to  the  interi'sts  of  the  tribe  or  clan. 
When  these  principles  luive  disappeared  along  with  the 
tribal  organization,  some  other  jn'inciples,  some  other 
standard  of  duty  and  precepts  of  condu(!t,  ought  to  be  at 
hand  to  replace  them.  Where  are  such  precepts  to  be 
found,  and  whence  are  the  motives  and  emotions  to  be 
drawn  which  will  give  the  new  precepts  a  power  to  com- 
mand the  will?  Although  the  Kafirs  have  shown  rather 
less  aptitude  for  assimilating  Christian  teaching  than  some 
other  savage  races  have  done,  there  is  nothing  in  the  ex- 
perience of  the  missions  to  discourage  the  hope  that  such 
teaching  may  come  to  prevail  among  them,  and  that 
through  it  the  next  generation  may  show  a  certain  moral 
advance  upon  that  which  has  gone  before.  As  the  pro- 
fession of  Christianitv  will  create  a  certain  link  between 
the  Kafirs  and  their  rulers  which  may  softeu  the  asperity 


MISSION'S 


303 


whicli  tho  rolations  of  tlio  two  nicos  now  wear,  so  its  doc. 
trim's  will  in  time  jrivo  tlicni  ii  staiidiml  of  coMduct  simi- 
lur  to  tlmt  uccqttrd  imioii^'  tiic  whites,  and  an  ideal  which 
will  intiucnco  the  snix-rior  minds  amon^'  them.  So  much 
may  certainly  be  said:  that  the  (lospel  and  tla^  mission 
schools  are  at  present  the  most  truly  civilizing'  influences 
which  work  upon  the  natives,  and  that  ui)()n  these  infiu- 
enees,  more  than  on  any  other  agency,  does  the  progress 
of  the  colored  race  depend. 


I,' 

I 


s\ 


'k 

M  ^ 

If    ■ 

in 

1 

i!  : 


f        i 


11 


V'    I 


n 


,j  1 


1    \ 


CHAPTER   XXTII 

SOCIAL   CHARACTERISTICS  OF   THE   TWO   BRITISH 

COLONIES 

THE  two  Soutli  African  colonies  have  notyot  had  i  ime 
to  develop  new  and  distinctive  types  of  life  and  char- 
acter. Tliong'l).  Cape  Colony  is  nearly  as  old  as  Massa- 
chusetts or  Virjxinia,  it  has  been  less  than  a  century  under 
British  rule,  and  the  two  diverse  elements  in  its  population 
have  not  yet  become  blended  into  any  one  type  that  can  be 
said  to  belons^  to  the  people  as  a  Avhole.  One  must  there- 
fore describe  these  elements  separately.  The  Dutch  are 
nearly  all  country  folk,  and  the  country  folk  are  (in  Cape 
Colony)  mostly  Dutch.  Some,  especially  near  Cape  Town, 
are  agriculturists,  but  many  more  are  ranchmen  or  sheep- 
masters.  They  are  a  slow,  quiet,  well-meaninp:  people,  ex- 
tremely conservative  in  their  opinions  as  well  as  their 
habits,  very  sparing,  because  they  have  little  ready  money, 
very  suspicious,  because  afraid  of  being  outwitted  by 
the  English  traders.  That  love  of  cleanliness  for  which 
their  kinsfolk  in  Holland  are  famous  has  vanished  under 
the  conditions  of  a  settler's  life  and  the  practice  of  using 
negro  servants,  and  they  are  now  apt  to  be  slatternly. 
They  live  in  a  simple,  old-fashioned  way,  loving  solitude 
and  isolation,  yet  very  hospitable,  and  enjoying  the  rare 

394 


ll     i 


SOCIAL  CIIAKA('TP:KISTICS 


39.- 


i>y 

lifh 
del* 


occasions  on  whicli  tlioy  meet  foi-  festivities  at  one  an- 
other's farni-lioiises.  These  are  ahnost  llieir  onlv  reere- 
ations,  for  hunlinjj:  is  less  attainable  now  that  the  laru'cr 
p:anie  has  disa])peared,  and  they  eare  nothing  for  the  in- 
tellectual pleasures  of  readinjjj  or  art  or  niusie.  Kdu- 
cation  is  now  pretty  widely  diffused  anionu;'  tlicin,  but  it 
has  not  yet  done  nnieh  to  quicken  their  minds  or  give 
them  new  interests.  The  population  is  so  extremely  thin, 
the  towns  so  few  and  so  snuill,  that  it  is  not  surprisini; 
that  a  people  who  came  out  from  the  least  ('ducated  strata 
of  society  in  Holland  should,  under  the  dillicult  conditions 
of  a  settler's  life,  have  remained  at  a  low  level  of  mental 
culture.  They  would  probably  have  been  still  more  l)ack- 
ward,  and  have  produced  fewer  men  of  ability,  but  for  the 
infusion  of  French  Hujjuenot  blood,  which  still  i-eveals 
itself  in  the  names  of  scmie  of  the  leadinjr  families. 

Compared  to  the  Dutch  the  English  are  recent  imnn- 
grants.  They  have  all  arrived  within  the  ])i-es(>nt  centui-y, 
and  few  of  them  can  point  to  grandfathers  born  in  South 
Africa.  Partly  for  this  reason,  partly  from  their  desire  to 
be  unlike  the  Dutch,  they  have  renuiined  nuirkedly  Engli.sh, 
both  in  their  speech,  in  their  ideas,  and,  so  fiir  as  the  diffei*- 
ences  of  climate  p(M'mit,  in  their  way  of  life.  Xevertheless. 
they  have  been  affected  by  the  Dutch.  Tliey  have  taken 
from  the  latter  the  aversion  to  field-labor,  the  contempt  for 
the  blacks,  the  tendency  to  prefer  large  ])astoral  farms 
to  agri(;ulture,  and,  in  some  districts,  a  rathiM-  .skn^py  and 
easy-going  teiuperament.  Even  in  Mashonaland  I  was 
told  that  the  English  ranchmen  wei-e  apt  to  fall  into  the 
hal)its  of  the  Boer  n(nghbors.  They  form  the  large  ma- 
jority of  the  town  i)opulation,  for  not  only  the  sc^iports, 
but  also  such  inland  places  as  Graham's  Town,  King  Wil- 
liam's Tow^n,  and  Kimberley  are  quite  English,  and  nearly 


it 


'.I 


•  iv 


i  ■     i  \ 

1 


vf 


/  - 


'fli 


m 


\ 


V  ' 

; 

' 

( 

! 
1 

1 

) 

1 

.]  1 

i 

)] 

\ 

1 

1 
:  1 

396 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFKICA 


all  the  commerce  and  finance  of  tlie  country  are  in  their 
hands.  Tiiey  ^wive  more  enterprise  than  tlie  Dutch,  and 
are  much  less  anti(iuated  iu  their  ideas,  so  it  is  to  tliem 
tluit  the  profits  of  tiie  new  minin<^  ventures  liave  chiefly 
fallen,  so  far  as  these  have  not  been  appropriated  by  keener 
and  more  inj^enious  adventurers  from  Europe,  mostly  of 
Semitic  stock. 

'  There  has  been  hardly  any  Irisli  immigration ;  jind 
though  one  meets  many  Scotchmen  among  the  bankers 
and  merchants,  the  Scottish  element  seems  smaller  than 
in  Ontario  or  most  of  the  Australasian  colonies.  Fully 
as  many  settlers  have  come  from  Germany,  but  tliese  have 
now  l)ecome  blended  with  the  English.  Tliere  are  no  bet- 
ter colonists,  and  indeed  the  Europeans  whom  the  last 
ninety  years  have  brouglit  liave  been  nu)st]y  of  excellent 
stocks,  superior  to  the  nud-European  races  that  have  lately 
inundated  the  United  States. 

Thougli  the  English  and  the  Dutch  form  distinct  social 
elements  which  are  not  yet  fused,  and  though  these  ele- 
ments are  now  politically  opposed,  there  is  no  social  antag- 
onism between  the  races.  The  Englishman  will  deride 
the  slowness  of  the  Dutchman,  the  Dutchnuin  mav  dis- 
trust  the  adroitness  or  fear  the  activity  of  tlie  English- 
man, but  neither  dislikes  or  avoids  the  other.  Neither 
enjoys,  or  even  pretends  to,  any  social  superiority,  and 
hence  neither  objects  to  marry  his  son  or  his  daughter 
to  a  member  of  the  other  race.  Both  are,  as  a  rule,  in 
fairly  easy  circumstances;  that  is  to  say,  there  are  few 
paupers,  and  still  fewer  rich  men.  Nearly  everybody  has 
enough,  and  till  lately  hardly  any  one  had  more  than 
enough.  Within  the  last  few  years,  however,  two  changes 
have  come.  The  diamond-mines  and  the  gold-mines  liave 
gix'en  vast  riches  to  a  small  numb(>r  of  persons,  some  half- 


SOCIAL   CHAKACTEKI^TK'S 


397 


oil- 
ier 
tiiid 
or 
ill 
ew 
las 
I  an 

i\e 
ilf- 


(lozen  or  loss  of  wlioin  continue  to  live  in  the  Colonv,  wliile 
the  otluTs  have  returned  to  Kurope.  Tliese  «»:reat  fortunes 
are  a  dist.urhinji;  eh-ment,  giving'  an  undue  intluenee  to 
their  possessors,  and  exeitiiij^  tlie  envy  or  emuL-ition  of  the 
multitude.  The  other  eliange  is  the  <>Towth  of  a  class  of 
jteople  reseinl)ling  the  "'mean  wliites"  of  the  Southern 
States  of  Aineriea,  loafers  and  otiier  lazy  or  shiftless  fel- 
lows who  hiuig  about  and  will  not  take  to  any  rejjfular  woi-k. 
1  heard  them  described  and  deplored  as  a  new  i)henonu!- 
non,  but  i;:ather  that  they  are  not  yet  numei'ous.  Their 
appearance,  it  is  to  be  feared,  is  the  natural  i-esult  of  that 
contempt  for  hard,  unskilled  labor  which  the  existence  of 
slaverv  ins])ired  in  the  whites;  and  thev  mav  hereafter 
constitute,  as  thev  now  do  in  the  Southern  Sta.'es  of  Anu'r- 
ica,  the  section  of  the  po]mlation  s])ecially  hostile  to  the 
neu:ro,  and  therefore  danu'orous  to  the;  Avlioh'  community. 
To  an  En<iiislinian  or  American  who  knows  how  rapidly 
his  lan«iua<>-e  has  become  the  lan<;uai;e  of  commerce  all 
over  the  world  ;  how  it  has  almost  extinii'uished  the  ancient 
Celtic  ton<»'ues  in  Scotland  and  Ireland  -.  how  (piickly  in  the 
United  States  it  has  driven  Spanish  out  of  the  West,  and 
lias  come  to  be  spoken  by  the  German,  Scandinjivian,  and 
Slavonic  immiirranis  whom  that  country  i-eceivcs,  it  is 
surprisinjjc  to  find  that  Dutch  holds  its  jjround  stul)bor]ily 
in  South  Afi'ica.  It  is  still  the  ordinary  lan<iun£r<'  of  prob- 
ably one  half  of  the  peo})le  of  Cape  (/olony  (althou<4'h 
most  of  these  can  speak  some  l\n<i'lisli)  and  of  three 
fcmrths  of  those  in  the  Oranjro  Free  State,  thoufj^h  of  a 
minority  in  Xatal.  En<2:lishmen  settlinc:  in  the  interior 
usually  learn  it  for  the  sake  of  talking-  to  their  Dutch 
nei<j:hl)ors,  who  are  slow  to  learn  Enu'lish  ;  and  Enji:lisli 
children  learn  it  from  the  colored  i)eoph'.  for  the  colored 
people  talk  it  far  more  generally  than  they  do  English  ;  in 


III 
I 

V 


I 


398 


LMPKESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFKICA 


fiiet,  whim  a  native  (except  in  one  of  tlie  coast  towrs) 
^4)eak^  a,  iiiiropean  ton  jji'ue,  that  tongue  is  sure  t'^  be  j)ut<a. 
Good  (observers  told  nie  that  altliongh  an  incivat;in.u'  num- 
))er  of  the  Africanders  (i.e.,  colonists  born  in  Africa)  of 
Dutch  origin  now  understand  English,  the  hold  of  Dutch 
is  so  strong  that  it  will  i)rol)ably  continue  to  be  spoken 
in  the  Coh)ny  for  two  generations  at  hmst.  Though  one 
must  call  it  Dutch,  it  differs  widely  from  the  cultivated 
Dutch  of  Holland,  having  not  only  preserved  some  features 
of  that  language  as  spoken  two  centuries  ago,  but  having 
adopted  many  Kafir  or  Hcjttentot  words,  and  having  be- 
come vulgiirized  into  a  dialect  which  is  almost  incapable 
of  expressing  abstract  thought  or  l)eing  a  v».hicle  for  any 
ideas  beyond  those  of  daily  life.  In  fact,  many  of  the 
Boers,  es})ecially  in  the  Transvaal,  cannot  understand  a 
modern  Dutch  book,  hardly  even  a  newspaper.  This  de- 
fect nuglit  give  English  a  great  advantage  if  the  Boers 
wished  to  express  abstract  ideas.  But  they  have  not  this 
wish,  for  they  have  no  abstract  ideas  to  express.  They 
are  an  eminently  concrete  people. 

The  rise  of  great  fortunes,  which  I  have  noted,  has  been 
too  recent  and  too  exceptional  a  phenomenon  to  affect 
the  generally  trancpiil  and  even  tenor  of  South  African 
social  life.  Among  both  Dutch  and  English  months 
and  3^ears  flow  smoothly  on.  F'v  pow  immigrants  enter 
the  rural  districts  or  the  small -r  tc.vns;  few  new  enter- 
prises are  started ;  few  ambitions  or  excitements  stir  the 
minds  of  the  people.  The  Witwatersrand  gold-field  is, 
of  course,  a  startling  exception,  but  it  is  an  exception  which 
tends  to  perpetuate  the  rule ;  fo*,  by  drawing  off  the  more 
eager  and  restless  spirits,  it  has  left  the  older  parts  of  both 
the  colonies  more  placid  than  ever.  The  general  equality 
of  conditions  has  produced  a  freedom  from  assumjytion 


SOCIAL   CIIAKACTEKISTICS 


390 


iO, 


on  the  Olio  liaml,  and  from  servility  »»ii  tlic  otlur,  and, 
indeed,  a  jicueial  absence  of  snobbishness,  wliieli  is  ({uite 
refreshing-  to  tiie  European  visitor.  Manners  are  simple, 
and  being-  simple,  the\  are  good.  If  there  is  less  polish 
than  in  some  eonntries,  there  is  ai^  unatTeeted  heartiness 
and  kindliness.  The  Dutch  have  a  sense  of  personal  dig- 
nity which  respects  the  dignity  (^  f  their  fellows,  and  which 
ex})resses  itself  in  direct  and  natural  forms  of  address. 
An  experienced  observer  dilat*  J  to  me  on  the  high  level 
of  decorum  maintained  in  the  Cape  Parliament,  where 
scenes  of  disorder  are,  I  believe,  nnknown,  and  violent 
langua<'-e  is  rare.  One  exjiects  to  find  in  all  colonies  a 
sense  of  equality  and  nii  element  of  .s(///.s'  (ifne  in  social 
intercourse.  But  one  usuallv  finds  also  'lore  roughness 
and  more  of  an  oft'hiuid,  im})atient  way  of  treating  stran- 
gers thnn  is  visible  in  South  Africa.  This  may  be  partly 
due  to  the  fact  that  people  are  not  in  such  a  hurry  as  they 
are  in  most  new  countries.  They  have  plenty  of  time  for 
eve7*ytliing.  The  climate  disinclines  them  to  active  exer- 
tion. There  is  little  immigration.  Trade,  except  in  the 
four  seaports,  is  not  brisk,  and  even  there  it  is  not  brisk 
in  the  American  sense  of  the  word.  The  slackness  of  the 
black  population,  which  has  to  be  emiiloyed  for  the  harder 
kinds  of  work,  reacts  npon  the  wliite  emiiloyer.  I  have 
visited  no  new  Enulish-six'aking  conntrv  where  one  so  little 
felt  the  strain  and  stress  of  modern  life.  This  feature  of 
South  African  society,  though  it  implii^s  a  sl"vv  material 
development,  is  very  agreeable  to  the  visito'  and  I  doubt 
if  it  be  renlly  an  injury  to  the  ultimate  ])rogress  of  the 
country.  In  most  ]»arts  of  North  America,  possi])ly  in 
Australia  also,  industri.-il  develojiment  has  been  too  rapid, 
and  has  induced  a  nervous  excittibility  ai  d  eager  restless- 
ness of  temper  from  which  Sout  h  Africa  is  free.    Of  course, 


ii 


iff 


t 


t    : 


n» 


is 


1       I 


400 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


in  sayinj?  this,  I  excopt  always  the  mining'  districts,  and 
especially  the  Witwatei-snnid,  wiiicli  is  to  tlie  full  as  restless 
and  as  active  as  (^ilit'ornia  or  (VJorado. 

Tlu!  (MHiij)jii'ative  ease  of  life  dis})oses  the  Kn^'lish  i)art 
of  the  jtopulation  to  athletic  si)orts,  which  are  pursued 
with  iiliuost  Jis  much  avidity  as  in  Anstralia.  Even  one 
who  thinks  that  in  En<,dand  the  passion  for  them  has  ^on3 
beyond  all  reasonjihle  linuts,  and  become  a  serious  injnry 
N)  educjition  and  to  the  taste  for  intellectual  i)leasnres, 
mny  fiiul  in  tlie  character  of  the  climate  a  justification  for 
the  devotion  to  cricket,  in  particular,  which  strikes  him  in 
South  Africa.  Now  that  j^ame  has  l)ecomo  s(\arce,  hunt- 
in  ji^  cannot  be  pursued  as  it  once  was,  and  young  peoi)le 
would  liave  little  incitement  to  physi(!al  exertion  in  the 
open  air  did  not  the  British  love  of  cricket  subsist  in  tlie 
schools  and  colleges.     Long  luay  it  subsist! 

The  social  conditions  I  have  been  describing  are  evi- 
dent! v  unfavorable  to  the  development  of  literature  or 
science  or  art.  Art  has  scarcely  begun  to  exist.  Science 
is  represented  only  by  a  few  naturalists  in  government 
emplo;  nient,  and  by  some  intelli^i^ent  amateur  observers. 
Researches  in  electricity  or  chemistry  or  biology  require 
nowadays  a  somewhat  elaliorate  apparatus,  Avith  which 
few  private  persons  could  provide  themselves,  and  which 
are  liere  possessed  onlj'-  by  one  or  two  public  institutions. 
English  aiid  .\,nerican  writers  have  hitherto  supplied  the 
intelieetujil  needs  of  the  people,  and  the  established  reputa- 
tion of  writers  in  those  countries  makes  competition  diffi- 
cult to  a  new  colonial  author.  The  towns  are  too  small, 
and  th(4r  inhabitants  too  much  occui)ied  in  commerce,  to 
crea'e  gr<viipv,  cf  highly  educated  people,  capable  of  polish- 
ing, whfctrii^g,  Kud  sti^nulating  one  another's  intellects. 
There  are  fev  lar^.  e  libi  ..ries,  and  no  full}'  equipped  univer- 


."■■■  <-•",. 


SOriAL  OnARACTERISTICB 


401 


sity  to  train  yoinif;  men  in  liistorv  or  pliilosopliy  or  eoon- 
omics  or  tlicoloj^y.  Ac('or(lin<i:ly,  tVw  books  arc  composed 
or  piiltlisliod,  and,  so  far  as  I  know,  only  throe  Sontli  Afri- 
can writers  have  ean<^ht  tlie  ear  of  the  Enro])ean  i)nl)lie. 
One  of  these  was  Thomas  Prinj^le,  a.  Seotehman,  whose 
poems,  written  sixty  or  s(!venty  years  aj^'o,  possess  (H)n- 
sideraWe  merit,  and  one  of  which,  Ix'^rinnin^  with  the 
line, 

Afar  ill  the  desert  T  love  to  ride, 


remains  the  most  striking;  picture  of  South  African  nature 
in  tliose  early  davs  when  the  wilderness  was  still  filled  with 
wild  creatures.  Another,  Miss  Olive  Schreiner  (now  Mrs. 
Cronwright-Schreiner),  has  attained  deserved  fame.  A 
tiiird,  Mr.  Scjdly.  is  less  known  in  England,  but  his  little 
volum'e  of  "  Kafir  Tales  "  is  marked  ])y  much  graphic  power 
and  shows  insight  into  native  character. 

These  three  writers,  and  iiideed  all  the  wi-iters  of  merit, 
belong  to  the  English  or  Anglified  section  of  the  i)0})ula- 
tion.  The  Dutch  section  is  practically  dis(iiuilified  by 
its  language  (which,  be  it  r'^membered,  is  not  the  lan- 
guage of  Holland,  but  a  deliased  dialect)  from  literary 
composition,  even  were  it  otherwise  disposed  to  authorship. 
Literature  will  always,  I  think,  remain  English  in  char- 
acter, bearing  few  or  no  traces  of  the  Dutch  element  in  the 
people.  But  otlierwise  things  are  likely  to  change  in  a  few 
years.  The  conditions  which  have  ])een  described  as  un- 
favorable to  intellectual  production  are  not  necessarily  per- 
manent, and  there  is  no  reason  why  the  p]uroj)eans  of  South 
Africa  should  not  in  due  time  emulate  their  kinsfolk  at 
home  or  in  North  America  in  literary  and  artistic  fertility. 
The  materials  for  imaginative  work,  whether  in  poetry  or 
in  prose,  lie  ready  to  their  hand.     The  scenery  deserves 

26 


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;  i 


402 


IMl'lv'ESSIONS   OF   SOl'Tir   AFK'ICA 


\    » 


some  ^rciit  native  lau(lse{ip('-i)aiiil('r,  and  such  a  g^enius 
will,  no  (lotibf,  one  diiv  arise. 

.lounialisni  has  now  everywhere  l)e(M>me,  in  point  of 
(jiiantit y,  the  most  important  part  of  literature.  Tiie  Soiitli 
Afriean  newspaj)ers  imi)ress  a  visitor  favorably.  Sevei'al 
of  them  are  written  with  ;rreat  a))ility,  and  they  are  eoiii- 
paratively  free  from  that  violeiiee/)f  iuveetive,  that  tawdri- 
iiess  of  rhetoric,  and  that  i)roneness  to  lill  their  columns 
with  eriminal  intdliyenee,  whieli  are  apt  to  be  eharfjed 
a<2^ainst  the  press  in  some  other  now  countries.  No  jour- 
nal seems  to  exert  so  ^j'cat  a  ]»olitieal  })o\ver  as  is  wielded 
by  several  of  the  Austi'alian  d.-iilics.  As  niifrht  be  exi)eeted, 
the  press  is  eliiefly  Enu'lish,  that  lanjiihiu'e  havin<i-  sixty- 
one  papers,  aji'ainst  seventeen  printed  in  Dutch  and  twenty 
th  'ce  in  both  laniiuau'es. 

Althoug'h  the  dispersion  of  the  small  Kuro})ean  pojmla- 
tiun  over  an  exceediuii'lv  wide  area  makes  it  ditlicult  to 
provide  elementary  ^;ch()ols  everywlu're,  education  is, 
among  the  whites,  well  cared  for,  and  in  some  regions, 
such  as  the  Orange  Free  State,  the  Boer  element  is  just 
as  eager  for  it  as  is  the  English.  Neither  are  eflticient 
secondary  schools  wanting.  That  which  is  wanting,  that 
which  is  ui'gently  needed  to  crown  the  educational  edifice, 
is  ;i.  properly  eipiipped  teaching  university.  There  are  a 
nuiiiberof  colleges  to  provide  lectures,  and  the  Cape  Uni- 
versity holds  examinations  and  confers  degrees;  but  to 
erect  over  these  colleges  a  true  university  with  an  adecpiate 
teaching  staff  seems  to  be  as  difficult  an  enterprise  at  the 
Cape  as  it  has  i)roved  to  be  in  London,  Avhere  twelve 
years  have  now  been  spent  in  vain  efforts  to  establish 
a  teaching  uniAcrsity.  It  is  strange  to  find  tliat  in  a 
new  country,  where  the  diifcrent  religious  bodies  live  on 
good  terms  wdth  one  another,  one  of  the  chief  (>bstacles  in 


SOCIAL   ('IIAKAf'TEKISTlCS 


403 


tlie  \v;iy  is  tlio  rcluct.'mcc  of  two  of  tlic  cxistiiii;'  ('(»llt'L''('S, 
wliicli  have  u  <l<'ii(»niiniiti()iml  cliat'iU'tt'r,  to  liavc  nn  iiisti- 
tiitioii  sui)ei'i()r  to  lliciii  set  14)  l)y  tlic  state.  The  other 
obstacles  are  tlio  rivalry  of  llie  eastern  province  witli  the 
western,  in  wlii<'li,  at  Cape  Town,  tlie  natural  seat  of  a 
nniversity  would  ])e  found,  and  the  a}>atliy  or  aversion  of 
the  Dutch  section  of  the  people.  Some  of  them  do  not 
care  to  spend  public  money  foi*  a  puri»ose  whose  value  they 
cannot  he  made  to  understiUid.  Others,  knowing  that  a 
university  would  necessarily  be  niainlv  in  I'hm'lish  hands 
and  ji'ive  instruction  of  an  Knu'lish  type,  fear  t(»  establish 
what  would  become  another  Aniclifvinir  influence.  Thus 
several  small  colleges  ^o  on,  each  with  inaderpuite  I'c- 
sourees,  and  the  Cape  youth  who  desires  to  obtain  a  lirst- 
rate  education  is  oblin-ed  to  ^o  to  lMiro}>e  for  it.  lie  cannot 
eyen  yet  a  fidl  course  of  lejral  instruction,  for  there  is  no 
complete  law  school.  This  is  so  far  yood  that  it  takes  a 
certain  number  of  yonn«j:  men  to  Europe  and  jj^ives  them 
a  first-hand  kn(>wled<ie  of  the  ideas  and  habits  of  the  Old 
World  ;  but  many  who  cannot  afford  the  luxury  of  a  Euro- 
pean journey  ami  residence  remain  without  the  kind  of  in- 
struction by  which  their  natural  jj^ifts  would  enable  them  to 
])rolit,  and  the  intellectual  prooress  of  the  ctmntry  suffers. 
Were  Cape  Colony  somewhere  in  the  United  States,  a 
millionaire  would  forthwith  stej)  in,  build  a  new  univer- 
sity, and  endow  it  with  a  few  millions  of  dollars.  But 
South  Afi'ica  is  oidy  just  beu'inuiny  to  produce  g-reat  for- 
tunes ;  so  the  l)est  hope  is  that  some  enlightened  and  tactful 
statesman  may,  by  disarminjj:  the  sus})icions  and  allaying 
the  jealousies  I  haye  described,  succeed  in  unitiufic  the  ex- 
isting colleges,  and  add  to  their  scrnty  revenue s  an  ade- 
quate goyernment  grant.  Of  this  there  seems  some  hope. 
But  the  jealousies  and  ambitions  which  those  who  control 


p  II 


M 


1 


40  t 


IMI'KESSIONS   or   SOI  Til    AFKK'A 


an  institution  fool  for  it  avo  often  ciuito  as  tonaoious  as  is 
tlio  scllislinoss  of  nion  wlioi'o  llioii-  own  jxickfts  Jii-o  oon- 
ct'i'iiod  ;  and  since  tliesc  jcjiloiisies  liave  a  snperlieial  air 
of  disintcrestocliM'ss,  it  is  all  I  lie  more  linrd  to  oNcrcome 
them  l»y  the   pressure  of  publi*'  opinion. 

One  other  intelleetual  foi'ec  rciiuiins  t(»  l>e  nienlioiM'd  — 
that  of  the  ehurehes.  In  tlie  two  British  eoloiiics  no  j'o- 
li}^ious  body  receives  special  state  rcco*ifnition  or  any 
j,'rants  from  the  stat«'.  All  are  on  an  t'(piid  footing-,  just 
as  in  Australia  and  in  North  America.  In  the  two  liocr 
republics  tlie  I)ut<di  h'efornied  Church  is  in  a  certain  sense 
the  state  ehnrcli.  In  t  he  Transvaal  it  is  reoo^nized  as  sueli 
by  the  ( frond  wot  (''  Fuudiunental  Law"),  an<l  receives  a  <j:ov- 
ernment  subvention.  jMembers  of  other  churehos  were  at 
one  time  exeluded  from  the  sufiVaufo  and  from  all  j)ublie 
oflfioos,  and  even  now  Roman  Catholics  jire  under  some 
disability.  In  the  Oranijfe  Free  Stntc  the  Dutch  Keformed 
Church  receives  public  iiid,  but  I  think  this  is  ^'iven,  to  a 
sinaller  extent,  to  some  other  denominations  also,  and  no 
loj^al  ine<pialities  based  on  relii^'ion  exist.  In  these  two 
republics  nearly  the  whole  of  the  Boer  po])ulation,  and  in 
the  Free  State  a  part  even  of  the  En<Tflish  population,  be- 
long: to  the  Dutch  Keformed  comnninion,  which  is  Pres- 
bvterian  in  ffovernment  and  Calvinistic  in  theoloL'v.  In 
the  British  colonies  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
(Church  of  En<2:land)  comes  next  after  the  Dutch  Re- 
formed, which  is  much  the  strongest  dencmiination ;  but 
the  Wesleyans  are  also  an  important  body,  and  there  are, 
of  course,  also  C(mfi:rej?ational  and  Baptist  churches.  The 
Presbyterians  seem  to  be  less  numerous  (in  ])roportion  to 
the  population)  than  in  Canada  or  Australia,  not  merely 
because  the  Scottish  element  is  less  numerous,  but  also 
because  many  of  the  Scottish  settlers  joined  the  Dutch 


I 


SOCIAL  CIIAUA(  TKKISTirs 


K»; 


K'.-forni('«l  Cliiifcli  us  lirintr  nkiii  to  tlicir  own  in  polity  and 
(locti'inc.  The  <'oni{)!ir;ilivi'  paucity  of  K'onian  Catholics  is 
(liK!  to  the  paucity  of  Irish  iiuiiiii;Tants.  These  hodies 
live  in  perfect  harmony  and  ^'ood  feeling- one  with  another, 
ail  fi-ankly  accepting  the  princi[)le  of  eciuality,  none  <'laini- 
iu^  any  social  prei'iidnence,  and  none,  so  fai*  as  I  conhl 
learn,  atteni[)tinji'  to  interfere  in  politics,  lioth  the  bishops 
and  the  clerjiy  of  the  Protestant  episcopal  Church  are, 
with  few  except i(»ns,  of  marked  lii|::h-clinrch  ]>roclivities, 
which,  however,  dct  not  appear  to  jn-evail  e(|ually  annni},' 
the  laity.  The  I)utch  Reformed  Chui'ch  has  l»een  trouhled 
by  doubts  as  to  the  orthodoxy  of  many  of  its  yonn»;cr 
j)astors  who  liave  been  educated  at  ivcyden  or  I'trecht, 
and  t'oi'  a  time  it  pret'ei'red  to  send  candidates  for  the 
miidstry  to  be  trained  at  EdinlMii'u'h,  whose  theolo^'ical 
schools  insi>ii'ed  less  distrust,  it  is  itself  in  its  turn  dis- 
trusted l)y  the  still  more  ri^id  Calvinists  of  the  Transvaal. 
One  curious  feature  of  South  African  society  reimuns  to 
be  mentioned,  which  imi)ressed  me  the  more  the  lonufer  1 
renuiined  in  tlie  country.  The  n{)per  stratum  of  that  so- 
ciety, eon.sistin^  of  the  well-to-do  and  ])est  educated  })coplo, 
is  naturally  small,  because  the  whoh'  white  i)opulation  of 
the  towns  is  small,  there  bein;;-  only  four  town.-,  that  have 
moi'c  than  ten  thousand  white  residents.  But  this  little 
society  is  virtually  one  society,  thou<ih  disju'rsed  in  spots 
hundreds  of  miles  from  one  another.  Natal  stands  rather 
apart,  and  has  very  little  to  do  either  soeiallv  or  in  tlie  wav 
of  business  with  Ca])e  Colony,  and  not  a  j^reat  deal  even 
with  the  Transvaal.  So,  too,  the  four  or  five  towns  of  the 
eastern  provintte  of  Ca])e  Colony  form  a  ^roup  somewluit 
detaclied,  and  thou<j;h  the  '*best  people  "  in  each  of  them 
know  all  about  the  "best  people"  in  Cai)e  Town,  they  are 
not  in  close  touch  with  the  latter.     But  Cape  Town,  Kim- 

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IMPRESSIONS   OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


berloy,  Blooiifoiitein,  Jolianiiesbur^,  Jiiul  Pretoria,  the  five 
most  iiiiportjiiit  places  (exclii(linj»-  the  Natal  toMiis),  are  for 
social  purj)<)ses  almost  one  city,  though  it  is  six  hiiiidred  and 
fifty  miles  from  Cape  Town  to  Kiml)erley,  and  one  thousand 
miles  from  Cape  Town  to  Johannesburg.  All  the  persons 
of  conse(|ueuce  in  these  places  know  one  another  and  fol- 
low one  another's  doings.  All  mix  frequently,  because 
the  Cape  Town  people  are  apt  to  be  called  by  business  to 
the  inland  cities,  and  the  residents  of  the  inland  cities 
come  to  Cape  Town  for  sea  air  in  the  summer,  or  to  em- 
bark thence  for  Europe.  Where  distances  are  great,  men 
think  little  of  long  journeys,  and  the  fact  that  Cape  Town 
is  practically  the  one  port  of  entrance  and  dei)arture  for 
the  interior,  so  far  as  passengers  are  concerned,  keeps  it 
in  constant  relations  with  the  leading  men  of  the  interior, 
and  gives  a  sort  of  unity  to  the  upi)er  society  of  the  whole 
country,  which  finds  no  parallel  in  any  other  part  of  the 
world.  Johannesburg  and  Cape  Town  in  particular  are, 
for  social  purposes,  in  closer  touch  with  each  other  than 
Liverpool  is  with  Manchester  or  New  York  with  Phila- 
delphia. When  one  turns  to  the  map  it  looks  a  long  way 
from  the  Cape  to  the  Rand ;  but  between  these  places  most 
of  the  country  is  a  desert,  and  there  is  onl}'  one  spot, 
Bloemfontein,  that  deserves  to  be  called  a  town.  So  I 
will  once  more  beg  the  reader  to  remember  tlutt  though 
South  Africa  is  more  tlian  half  as  large  as  Europe,  it  is, 
measured  by  popidation,  a  very  small  country. 


t( 


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CHAPTER   XXIV 

POLITICS   I\   THE   TWO   liRlTISII   COLONIES 

THE  circniiLstniices  of  the  two  South  AtVifjin  colonies 
are  so  dissiiiiihir  from  tlioso  of  tlie  Britisli  colonies  in 
North  America  and  in  Australasia  as  to  have  impressed 
upon  their  politics  a,  very  ditfereut  character.  I  do  not 
proi)ose  to  descril)e  the  present  political  situation,  for  it 
may  have  changed  before  these  pages  are  jjublished.  It 
is  only  of  the  permanent  causes  which  j^nve  their  color  to 
the  pul)lic  life  and  political  issues  of  the  country  that  I 
shall  speak,  and  that  concisely. 

The  frame  of  government  is,  in  Vnpe  Colony  as  well  as 
in  Natal,  essentially  the  same  as  in  the  other  self-govern- 
ing Britisli  colonies.  There  is  a  governor,  appointed  by  the 
home  government,  and  responsible  to  it  only,  who  plays 
the  part  which  belongs  to  the  Crown  in  Great  Britain. 
He  is  the  nominal  head  of  the  executive,  summoning  and 
proroguing  the  legislature,  appointing  and  dismissing 
ministers,  and  exercising,  upon  the  advice  of  his  ministers, 
the  prerogative  of  pardon.  There  is  a  cabinet  consisting 
of  the  heads  of  the  chief  administrative  departments,  who 
are  the  practical  executive  of  the  Colony,  and  are  respon- 
sible to  the  legislature,  in  which  they  sit,  and  at  whose 
pleasure  they  hold  their  offices.     There  is  a  legislature 

407 


I  I 

tl 

1      I 


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i] 


s 


V. 


i 


,  '1 


':,' 


408 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


consisting  of  two  houses— an  Assembly  and  a  Legislative 
Council.  In  Cape  ('olony  (for  of  the  arrangements  in 
Natal  I  have  spoken  in  a  previous  chapter)  both  houses 
are  elected  on  the  same  franchise,— a  low  one,— and  every 
citizen  is  eligible  for  membership  in  either ;  but  the  dis- 
tricts for  the  election  of  members  of  the  Council  are  much 
larger,  and  therefore  fewer,  than  those  for  the  Assembly, 
so  the  former  Ijody  is  a  small  and  the  latter  a  compara- 
tively numerous  one.  The  rights  and  powers  of  both 
houses  are  theoretically  the  same,  save  that  money  bills 
originate  in  the  Assembly ;  but  the  Assembly  is  far  more 
powerful,  for  the  ministry  holds  office  only  so  long  as  it 
has  the  support  of  a  nuijority  in  that  body,  whereas  it 
need  not  regard  a  hostile  vote  in  the  Council.  Ministers 
have  the  right  of  speaking  in  both  houses,  but  can,  of 
course,  vote  only  in  the  one  of  which  they  are  members  by 
popular  election.  If  there  happens  not  to  be  a  minister 
who  has  a  seat  in  the  Council  (as  is  the  case  at  present), 
it  is  usual  for  the  cabinet  to  allot  one  to  be  present  in  and 
look  after  that  chamber  for  the  day. 

This  cabinet  system,  as  it  is  called,  works  pretty  smoothly, 
on  lines  similar  to  that  English  original  whence  it  is  copied. 
The  most  interesting  peculiarity  is  the  Cape  method  of 
forming  the  smaller  house.  In  England  the  Upper  House 
is  composed  of  hereditary  members ;  in  the  Canadian  Con- 
federation, of  members  nominated  for  life— both  of  them 
systems  which  are  quite  indefensible  in  theory.  Here, 
however,  we  find  the  same  plan  as  that  which  })re vails  in 
the  States  of  the  North  American  Union,  all  of  which  have 
senates  elected  on  the  same  franchise,  and  for  the  same 
term,  as  the  larger  house,  but  in  more  extensive  districts, 
so  as  to  make  the  numljer  of  members  of  the  second 
chamber  smaller.  Regarding  the  merits  of  the  Cape  scheme 
I  heard  different  views  expressed.    Nobody  seemed  opi)Osed 


POLITICS    IN    TllK    TWO    BKITI8JI    ('OL()NIP:s       400 

in  princii)l('  to  tluMlivision  of  the  loj^islature  into  twoliouses, 
but  many  oondeninod  the  oxi.stinj^  Council  as  being  usually 
composed  of  second-rate  men,  and  apt  to  l)e  ol)structive  in 
its  tendencies.  Others  thought  thau  the  Council  was  a  use- 
ful part  of  the  scheme  of  government,  because  it  interposed 
some  delay  in  legislation  and  gave  time  for  reflection 
and  further  debate.  One  point  came  out  pretty  clearly. 
No  difficulty  seems  to  arise  from  having  two  popularly 
elected  houses  equally  entitled  to  control  the  administra- 
tion, for  custom  has  settled  that  the  Assembly  or  larger 
house  is  that  whose  vote  determines  the  life  of  a  ministry. 
But  it  follows  from  this  circumstance  that  all  the  most 
able  and  ambitious  men  desire  a  seat  in  the  more  power- 
ful chamber,  leaving  the  smaller  house  to  those  of  less 
mark.  This  is  the  exact  reverse  of  what  has  happened  in 
the  United  States,  where  a  seat  in  the  Senates  is  more  de- 
sired than  one  in  the  House ;  but  it  is  a  natural  result  of 
the  diverse  arrangements  of  the  two  countries,  for  in  the 
federal  government  the  Senate  has  some  powers  which 
the  House  of  Representative  ;  does  not  enjoy,  while  in  the 
several  States  of  the  Union,  although  the  jxnvers  of  the 
two  houses  are  almost  the  same,  the  smaller  number  of  each 
Senate  secures  for  each  Senator  somewhat  greater  impor- 
tance than  a  member  of  the  larger  body  enjoys.  The 
Cape  Colony  plan  of  letting  a  minister  speak  in  both  houses 
works  very  well,  and  may  deserve  to  be  imitated  in  Eng- 
land, where  the  fact  that  the  head  of  a  department  can 
explain  his  policy  only  to  his  own  House  has  sometimes 
caused  inconvenience. 

So  much  for  the  machinery.  Now  let  us  note  the  chief 
points  in  which  the  circumstances  of  Cape  Colony  and  of 
Natal  (for  in  these  respects  both  colonies  are  alike)  differ 
from  those  of  the  other  self-governing  colonies  of  Britain. 

The  population  is  not  homogeneous  as  regards  race,  but 


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i  }.. 


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i  i 


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ti 


410 


IMPHESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFKICA 


consists  of  two  sto(tks,  Eii^lisli  and  Dntcli.  These  stocks 
are  not,  as  in  Canada,  locally  st'itaratc,  Init  dwell  inter- 
mixed, tliou«^h  the  Dutch  element  predominates  in  the 
western  jn'ovince  and  in  the  inteiior  ^'enerally,  the  Eng- 
lish in  the  eastern  province  and  at  the  Kiniberley  diamond- 
fields. 

The  population  is  homogenecuis  as  regards  religion,  for 
nearly  all  are  Protestants,  and  Protestants  of  much  the 
same  type.  Rac^e  difference  has  fortunately  not  been  com- 
plicated, as  in  Canada,  by  ecclesiastical  antagonisms. 

The  population  is  homogeneous  jis  res})ects  material  in- 
terests, for  it  is  wholly  agricultural  and  pastoral,  except  a 
few  merchants  and  artisans  in  tiie  seai)()i-ts,  and  a  few 
miners  at  Kiniberley  and  in  Nama([ualand.  Four  fifths 
of  it  are  pra(*ti<^ally  rural,  for  the  interests  of  the  small 
towns  are  identical  with  those  of  the  surrounding  coun- 
try. 

The  population  is  not  only  rural,  but  scattered  more 
thinly  over  a  vast  area  than  in  any  other  British  colony, 
ex(!ej)t  northwestern  Canada  and  parts  of  Australasia. 
In  Natal  there  are  only  about  two  white  men  to  the  square 
mile,  and  in  Cape  Colony  less  than  two.  Nor  is  this 
sparseness  incidental,  as  in  North  America,  to  the  early 
days  of  settlement.  It  is  due  to  a  physical  condition,  — the 
thinness  of  the  pasture,— which  is  likely  to  continue. 

Below  the  white  citizens,  who  are  the  ruling  race,  there 
lies  a  thick  stratum  of  colored  population,  numerically 
larger,  and  likely  to  remain  so,  because  it  performs  all  the 
unskilled  labor  of  the  country.  Here  is  a  condition  which, 
though  present  in  some  of  the  Southern  States  of  America, 
is  fortunately  absent  from  all  the  self-go veriung  colonies 
of  Britain,  and  indeed  caused  Jamaica  to  be,  some  time 
ago,  withdrawn  from  that  category. 


rol.lTR'S    IX    TlIK   TWO   BKITISII   COLONIKS        ill 


Th«'  conjunction  of  tlicsc  circumstances  marks  of!"  Soutli 
Africa  as  a  very  peculiar  country,  where  we  may  expect  to 
find  a  corresi»on(lin<;ly  ju'culiar  political  situation.  Com- 
parin<r  it  to  other  states,  we  nuiy  say  that  the  Cajx'  and 
Natal  resemble  Canada  in  the  fact  that  there  are  two  Euro- 
pean races  present,  and  resend)le  the  Southern  States  of 
America  in  havini::  a  lar^e  mass  of  cohd'cd  })eoj»lc  beneath 
the  whites.  But  Soutli  Africa  is  in  other  respects  uidike 
both,  and  although  situated  in  the  southern  hemisi)here, 
it  does  not  resemble  Australia. 

Now  let  us  see  how  these  circumstances  have  determined 
the  political  issues  that  have  arisen  in  Cajjc  Colony. 

Certain  issues  are  absent  which  exist  not  only  in  Huroju' 
and  the  United  States,  but  also  in  Australia  and  in  Canada. 
There  is  no  anta<i<»nism  of  rich  and  poor,  because  there  are 
very  few  poor  and  still  fewei-  rich.  There  is  no  workiniif- 
man's  or  labor  party,  because  so  few  white  men  are  em- 
ployed iu  handicrafts.  There  is  no  socialist  movement, 
nor  is  any  likely  to  arise,  because  the  mass  of  workers,  to 
whom  elsevrhere  socialism  addresses  itself,  is  mainlv  com- 
posed  of  bhick  i)eople,  and  no  white  would  di'cam  of  collec- 
tivism for  the  benefit  of  l)lacks.  Thus  tlu'  whole  jLjroup  of 
labor  (luestions,  which  bulks  so  laruely  in  modern  indus- 
trial states,  is  i)ractically  absent,  and  rei)laced  by  a  diil'erent 
set  of  class  ipiestions,  to  be  presently  mentioned. 

There  is  no  reu'ularlv  oru:anized  Protectionist  i»artv,  nor 
is  the  protection  of  native  industry  a  livinj^"  issue  of  the 
first  maji'uitude.  The  farmers  and  ranchmen  of  Cape  Col- 
ony no  doubt  desire  to  have  a  tariff  on  foodstuffs  that  will 
help  them  to  keep  up  prices,  and  they  have  e:ot  one.  But 
it  is  not  a  verv  hiirh  tariff,  and  as  direct  taxation  is  diflR- 
cult  to  raise  in  a  new  country  with  a  scattered  population, 
the  existing  tariff,  which  averatres  twelve  and  a  half  per 


hi 

V 


I 


Pi 

! 


II 


412 


IMl'UKHSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


,.    .i 


i 


I 


ill 


(I'i 


cent.  (1(1  mlortm,  inuy  be  dofondcd  as  needed,  at  least  to  a 
lar^j^e  extent,  for  tlie  i)iirposes  of  revenue  Natal  has  a 
lower  taritT,  and  is  nioi'e  favorablt'  in  principle  to  free- 
trade  doctrine.  Manufactures  have  been  so  s[)arin^ly  de- 
veloped in  both  colonies  that  neither  eniployers  nor  work- 
men have  be«]jun  to  call  for  hij;h  duties  against  foreign 
goods.  Here,  therefore,  is  another  held  of  policy,  impor- 
tant in  North  America  and  in  Australia,  which  has  given 
rise  to  little  eoutroversv  in  South  Africa. 

As  there  is  no  established  church,  and  nearlv  all  the 
people  are  Protestants,  there  are  no  ecclesiastictal  ((uestious, 
nor  is  the  progress  of  education  let  and  hindered  by  the 
claims  of  sects  to  have  their  respective  creeds  taught  at 
the  expense  of  the  state. 

Neither  are  there  any  land  (piestions,  such  as  those  which 
have  arisen  in  Australia,  for  there  has  been  land  enough 
for  those  wdio  want  to  have  it,  while  few  agricultural  im- 
migrants arrive  to  increase  the  den  3^  Moreover,  though 
the  landed  estates  are  large,  their  t  •  is  are  not  rich,  and 
excite  no  envy  by  their  possession  of  a  profitable  mono])- 
oly.  If  any  controversy  regarding  natural  resources 
arises,  it  will  probably  turn  on  the  taxation  of  minerals. 
Some  have  suggested  that  the  state  should  appropriate  to 
itself  a  substantial  share  of  the  profits  made  out  of  the 
diamond  and  other  mines,  and  the  fact  that  most  of  those 
profits  are  sent  home  to  shareholders  in  Europe  might  l)e 
expected  to  make  the  suggestion  popular.  Nevertheless, 
the  suggestion  has  not,  so  fai",  ''caught  on,"  to  use  a 
familiar  expression,  partly,  perhaps,  be(!ause  Cape  Colony, 
drawing  sufficient  income  from  its  tariff  and  its  railway's, 
has  not  found  it  necessary  to  hunt  for  other  sources  of 
revenue. 

Lastly,  there   are   no   constitutional  questions.     The 


'I  • 


t'OLlTICS    IN    TJIK   TWO   HKITISH   COLONIES       41.S 


siiffra  ;('  is  so  wide  as  to  admit  iicarlv  all  the  whit«'s,  and 
tflu'i'c  is,  of  coui'sf.  no  desire  to  no  jowei'  and  admit  more 
blacks.  Tlie  niacliineiy  of  j,''overnment  is  deemed  satis- 
fa(ttory  ;  at  any  I'ate,  one  hears  of  no  proposals  to  elianj;o  it, 
and,  as  will  be  seen  jiresently,  there  is  not  in  either  colony 
a  wish  to  alter  the  relations  now  snhsistin^^  between  it 
and  the  mother  eonntrv. 

The  reader  may  siipj)ose  that  sinee  all  these  jjronnds  of 
controvei'sy,  familiar  to  Knrope,  and  some  of  them  now  nn- 
happily  familiar  to  the  new  (h-moeraeies  also,  are  absent, 
South  x\friea  enjoys  the  political  tranipiillity  of  a  (MMintry 
where  tliere  are  no  factions,  and  the  oidy  question  is  how 
to  find  the  men  most  able  to  promote  that  economic 
develoi)ment  which  all  unite  in  desiring:.  This  is  by  no 
means  the  ease.  In  South  Africa  the  part  fiUed  (dsewhere 
by  constitutional  (piesticms,  and  industrial  (piestions,  and 
ecclesiastical  (questions,  and  currency  (juestions,  is  filled  })y 
race  questions  and  color  (piestions.  C^olor  (luestions  have 
been  discussed  in  a  previous  chapter.  They  turn  not,  as  in 
the  Southern  States  of  America,  upon  the  political  rijjfhts  of 
the  bla(»k  nuin  (for  on  this  subject  the  ruling  whites  are  in 
both  colonies  unanimous),  but  upon  land  rights  and  the 
rerrulation  of  native  labor.  They  are  not  at  this  moment 
actual  and  pungent  issues,  but  they  are  in  the  backgnmnd 
of  every  one's  mind,  and  the  attitude  of  each  man  to  them 
goes  far  to  determine  his  political  sympathies.  One  can- 
not say  that  there  exist  pro-native  or  anti-native  parties, 
but  the  Dutch  are  by  tradition  more  disposed  than  the 
Englisli  to  treat  the  native  severely  and,  as  they  express 
it,  keep  him  in  his  place.  It  is  always  by  Englishmen  that 
the  advocacy  of  the  native  case  is  undertaken,  yet  many 
Englishmen  share  the  Dut<!h  feeling.  In  Natal  both  races 
are  equally  anti-Indian. 


\t 


'(,* 


'* 


i 


. 


m 


•■'*;''  ''     I 


I 


i    ( 


1(1 


414 


IMI'UKSSIONS   Ol'    SOl'TII    AFRICA 


A 


The  race  ((lu'stion  nni(Hi«jr  the  wliitcs,  tliiit  is  to  sny,  tho 
rivalry  ol"  hiitcli  and  Kiii^lisii,  wuiihl  raisf  no  i)ractical 
issue  were  ('ape  Colony  an  island  in  lln'  ocran,  for  tlicro 
is  (!onii)l('t('  })oliti('al  and  social  ('(juality  hctwccn  the  two 
stocks,  and  the  material  interests  of  the  Dutch  farmer  are 
the  same  as  those  of  liis  Knirlish  neij;hl»or.  It  is  the  exis- 
tence of  a  contiii'uous  forei^ni  state,  the  South  African 
Hei)ul>lic,  that  shar})ens  Dutch  feeling'.  The  lioers  who 
remained  in  Cape  Colony  and  in  Natal  have  always  retained 
their  sentiment  of  kinship  with  those  who  went  out  in  tlio 
1  treat  Trek  of  1S;}(),  or  who  moved  northward  from  Natal 
into  the  Transvaal  after  the  annexation  of  Natal  in  1S42. 
3Ianv  of  them  are  connected  l>v  familv  ties  with  tho 
iidia1)itants  of  the  two  republics,  and  are  proud  of  the 
achi(>vements  of  their  kinsfolk  airaiiist  Din^aan  and 
Mosilikatze,  and  of  the  ccmi-a^e  displayed  at  Lain«i''s 
Nek  and  IMajuba  Hill  aji'ainst  the  Hritish.  They  resent 
keeidy  any  attemi)t  to  trench  upon  tlie  indei)endeiice  of 
the  Transvaal,  while  most  of  the  Enj^'lish  do  not  conceal 
their  wish  to  brini»'  that  state  into  a  South  African  Con- 
federation, if  possible  under  the  l^ritish  tlajjj.  The  minis- 
tries and  le<?islatnres  of  tlie  two  British  colonies,  it  need 
liardlv  be  said,  have  no  oflflcial  relations  with  the  two  Dutcli 
republics,  becans(»,  accordinji:  to  the  constitution  of  the 
British  empire,  such  relations,  like  all  other  foreifjn  rela- 
tions, belonji:  to  the  Crown,  and  the  Crown  is  advised  by 
the  British  cabinet  at  home.  In  South  Africa  the  Crown 
is  represented  for  the  purpose  of  these  relations  by  the 
Ilig-h  Commissioner,  who  is  not  responsilde  in  any  way  to 
the  colonial  legislatures,  and  is  not  even  required  to  con- 
sult the  colonial  cal)inet,  for  his  functions  as  Hig'li  Com- 
missioner for  South  Africa  are  deemed  to  be  distinct  from 
those  which  he  has  as  Governor  of  Cape  Colony.     Matters 


/" 


I'ULITRS    IN    Tin:    TWO    IMiMTlMlI    COhONIKS         Ur. 


toucliiii},'  llir  two  rt'piildics  iiiitl  tlu'ir  rclutioii  to  the  two 
colouics  jiiH',  jKM'ordiiij^lv.  ciitii'dy  outsidt'  tlic  spluT*'  of 
action  of  tlic  coluuial  Icixislatiii't's,  wliirli  liavr,  in  strict 
tlit'orv,  no  I'i^lit  to  pass  resolutions  n•^^•lnlin^'  tlicni.  In 
I)()int  of  fact,  however,  the  Cape  AsseinMy  frequently  (h)cs 
(h'batc  and  i)ass  resolutions  on  these  nuitters;  nor  is  this 
practice  disai)i)roved,  foi-,  as  the  sentinienis  of  the  Colony 
are  an  important  factor  in  detenu  in  inj,'-  tlu-  action  of  the 
home  ^'•overnnient,  it  is  well  that  the  British  cahiiu't  and 
the  Jli^h  Commissioner  should  possess  such  a  means  of 
pi^'in^'  those  sentiments.  The  same  tiling'  happens  with 
regard  to  any  other  ([uestion  between  Hi'itain  and  a  foreij^Mi 
j)ower  whi<'h  att'ects  the  two  c<tlonies.  (Questions  with 
(Jernuiny  or  Portujiid,  questions  as  to  the  ac(piisition  of 
territory  in  South  Central  Africa,  would  also  he  discussed 
ill  the  colonial  le«i'islati:res,  jvst  as  those  of  Australia  some 
years agfo comj)lained  Marndy  of  the  action  of  France  in  the 
New  Hebrides.  And  thus  it  comes  to  i)ass  that  Ihouj^h 
the  governments  and  legislatui-es  of  the  ."olonies  have  in 
strictness  nothing  to  do  with  foreign  ])()licy,  foreign  policy 
has  had  much  to  do  with  the  formation  of  parties  at  the 
Cape. 

Now  as  to  the  ])arties  themselves.  Hitherto  I  have 
spoken  of  Natal  and  the  Cape  together,  because  their  con- 
ditions are  generally  similar,  though  the  Dut(;h  element  is 
far  stronger  in  the  latter  than  in  the  former.  In  what 
follows  I  speak  of  the  Cape  only,  for  political  parties  have 
not  had  time  to  grow  up  in  Natal,  where  responsible  gov- 
ernment dates  fnmi  1S!)I}.  In  the  earlier  days  of  the  Ca})e 
legislature  parties  were  not  strongly  nuirked.  though  they 
tended  to  coincide  with  the  race  distinction  Ix'tween  Dutch 
and  English,  because  the  western  province  was  (thiefly 
Dutch,  and  the  eastern  ehietly  English,  and  thei'e  was  a  cer- 


fr 


i 


I 


■if 


n(( 


IMPRESSIONS   oK   SOl'TM    AFHICA 


'  1 


tain  rivalrv<n'antji<r<)iiisiu  ln'twccii  tlM'sctwomaimlivisions 
ttf  tlic  couiitrv.  Tln!  Dutch  ch'HU'ut  was,  inorcovcr,  wliolly 
aj^nicultural  jmhI  pastoral,  tlic  Kii;rlisli  partly  nicrcaiitil*' ; 
s(»,  wlicn  any  issue  aroso  iKjtwccii  those  two  interests,  it 
(generally  eoiTesponded  with  the  division  of  races.  I'olitical 
or«;ani/ation  was  chiefly  in  Hnfjflish  hands,  luM-ause  the  eo- 
lonial  Dutch  had  not  jxissessed  I'epresentative  j;overnnient, 
whereas  the  Hn<;lish  l)rou«j:ht  their  home  luibits  with  them. 
However,  down  till  ISSO  parties  remained  in  an  amorphous 
or  fluid  (condition,  l)ein«r  larircly  atl'eeted  by  the  inHu«'nceof 
individual  leaders;  and  the  Dutch  section  of  tlu?  ele(^torate 
was  hardly  (MHiscious  of  its  stren^4h.  In  the  end  of  that 
year,  the  rising'  in  tlu;  Transvaal,  and  the  war  of  indepen- 
dence which  tVdlowed,  i)owerfully  stimulated  Dutch  feeling, 
and  led  to  the  formation  of  the  Afri<'auder  liond,  a  leajj^ue 
or  association  appealinfjf  n<nninally  to  African,  hut  practi- 
cally to  Boer,  j)atriotism.  It  was  not  anti-English  in  the 
sense  of  hostilitv  to  the  British  connection,  anv  more  than 
was  the  French  i>arty  in  Lower  (*anada  at  the  same  time, 
but  it  was  based  not  only  on  the  solidarity  of  the  Boer  raee 
over  all  South  Africa,  but  also  on  the  doctrine  that  Afri- 
canders must  think  of  Africa  first,  and  see  that  the  countrv 
was  governed  in  accordance  with  local  sentiment  rather 
than  on  British  lin(!s  or  with  a  view  to  l^ritish  interests. 
Being  Dutch,  the  Bond  became  naturally  the  rural  or  agri- 
cultural and  pastoral  party,  and  therewith  incdined  to  a  pro- 
tective tariff  and  to  stringent  legislation  in  native  matters. 
Such  anti-English  tint  as  this  association  originally  wore 
tended  to  fade  when  the  Transvaal  troubles  receded  into 
the  distance,  and  when  it  was  perceived  that  the  British 
government  became  more  and  more  disposed  to  leave  the 
Colony  to  manage  its  own  affairs.  And  this  was  still 
more  the  case  after  the  rise  to  power  of  Mr.  Cecil  Rhodes, 


I'OLITU'H   IN   Tin;   TWO   HKITISH   (OLONIKS       4  17 


who,  Nvliih'  receiviiif?  tlu*  support  of  tin*  Hoiul  i»iul  tlie 
l)utc'h  jmrty  p-iHTully,  was  known  to  In;  also  a  strong'  ini- 
|H'rialist,  ta^''*'!'  to  cxttMul  tlu'  ranj;e  of  British  powtT  ovrr 
tlu'  (•ttntiucnt.  At  thr  saiiu*  tinu'  tli«'  attat'liincnt  of  tli»« 
colonial  hutch  to  the  Transvaal  cooled  down  undci-  the 
unfriendly  policy  of  President  Kruger.  whose  p)vernnient 
imposed  heavy  import  duties  on  tlieir  food-stutfs,  and 
denied  to  their  youth  the  opp«)rtunities  of  «»btaining  posts 
in  the  service  of  the  South  African  He[)ublic,  preferrinj^ 
to  fetch  Dutcli-speaking  men  from  Holland,  when  it 
could  have  had  plenty  of  capalde  people  from  the  Cape 


wh 


lio  spoke  the  tonjifue  and  knew  the  ways  of  the  country. 
Thus  the  embers  of  Dutch  and  Kn«rlish  antap>nism  seemed 
to  be  j^rowin*::  cold  when  they  were  suddenly  fanned  again 
into  a  flame  bv  the  fresh  Transvaal  troubles  of  December, 
18!)5,  which  caused  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Rhodes,  and  the 
severance  from  him  of  his  Dutch  supporters.  Too  little 
time  has  elai)sed  since  those  events  to  nuike  it  possible  to 
predi«!t  how  parties  may  reshape  themsi-lves,  nor  is  it  any 
l)art  of  my  plan  to  deal  with  current  jtolitics.  Feeling 
still  runs  high,  but  it  has  not  gone  so  far  as  to  interrupt 
the  previously  friendly  social  relations  of  tl;e  races,  and 
there  are  good  grounds  for  hoping  that  within  a  few 
months  or   vears  mutual  confidence  will  be  restored. 

So  far  as  I  conld  ascertain,  both  local  government  and 
central  government  are  in  the  two  colonies  pure  and 
honest.  The  judiciary  is  above  all  suspicion.  The  civil 
service  is  managed  on  English  princij)les,  there  being  no 
elective  offices,  and  nothing  resembling  what  is  called  the 
"  caucus  system  "  seems  to  have  grown  up.  There  are  in 
the  Cape  legislature  some  few  member.*  supposed  to  be 
"low-toned"  and  open  to  influence  by  the  prospect  of 
material  gain,  but,  though  I  heard  of  occasional  jobbing, 

27 


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418 


IMPRESSIONS   OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


I  heard  of  nothing  amounting  to  corruption.  Elections 
are  said  to  be  free  from  bribery,  but  as  they  have  seldom 
excited  any  keen  interest,  this  point  of  superiority  to  most 
coinitries  need  not  be  ascribed  to  moral  causes. 

Reviewing  the  course  of  Cape  politics  during  the  thirty 
years  of  responsible  government,  that  course  appears 
smooth  when  compared  with  the  parallel  current  of  events 
iii  the  Australian  colonies.  There  have  been  few  consti- 
tutional crises,  and  no  exciting  struggles  over  i)urely 
domestic  issues.  This  is  due  not  merely  to  the  absence 
of  certain  causes  of  strife,  but  also  lo  the  temper  of  the 
])e<)ple,  and  their  thin  dispersion  over  a  vast  territory. 
In  large  town  populations,  excitement  grows  by  tlie  sym- 
l)athy  of  numbers ;  cut  in  South  Africa  it  is  hard,  exce})t  in 
five  or  six  places,  to  gather  a  public  meeting  of  even  three 
hundred  citizens.  The  Dutch  are  tardy,  cautious,  and  re- 
served. The  doggedness  of  their  ancestors  w^ho  resisted 
Philip  II  of  Spain  lives  in  them  still.  They  have  a  slow, 
tenacious  intensity,  like  that  of  n  forest  fire,  which  smolders 
long  among  the  prostrate  trunks  before  it  bursts  into  flame. 
But  they  are,  except  when  deeply  stirred,  conservative  and 
slow  to  move.  They  dislike  change  so  much  as  to  be  un- 
willing to  change  their  representatives  or  their  ndnisters. 
A  Cape  statesman  told  me  that  the  Dutch  members  of  the 
Assenddy  would  often  say  to  him  :  "  We  think  you  wrong  in 
this  instance,  and  we  are  going  to  vote  against  you,  but  we 
don't  want  to  turn  j'ou  out;  stay  on  in  office  as  before." 
So  President  Kruger  observed  to  me,  in  commenting  on  the 
f recpient  changes  of  government  in  England :  "  When  we 
have  found  an  ox  wlio  makes  a  good  leader  of  the  team, 
we  keep  him  there,  instead  of  shifting  the  cattle  about  in 
the  hope  of  finding  a  better  one  " ;  and  in  saying  this  he 
expressed  the  feelings  and  habits  of  his  race.     To  an  Eng- 


lM 


POLITICS   IX   THE   TWO   BRITISH  COLONIES       419 

lishman  they  seem  to  waut  that  interest  in  politics  for  its 
own  sake  wliieli  marks  not  only  the  English  (and  still 
more  the  Irish)  at  home,  but  nlso  the  English  stoek  in 
North  Amei'iea  and  Australia.  But  this  very  fact  makes 
tlieni  all  the  more  fierce  and  stubborn  when  some  issue 
arises  which  stirs  their  inmost  mind,  and  it  is  a  fact  to  be 
remembered  by  those  who  have  t(  govern  them.  Tlie 
things  they  care  most  about  are  their  religion,  their  race 
ascendancy  over  the  blacks,  and  their  r)utch-Afri<'an 
nationality  as  represented  by  their  kinsfolk  in  the  two 
republics.  The  first  of  these  has  never  been  tampered 
Avith;  the  two  latter  have  been  at  the  bottom  of  all  the 
serious  difficulties  that  luue  arisen  between  them  and  the 
i]nglish.  That  which  at  this  moment  excites  them  and 
forms  the  crucial  issue  in  Capo  politics  is  the  sti-ained 
condition  of  things  which  exists  in  the  Transvaal.  I 
propose  in  the  following  chapter  to  exjjlain  Ikav  that  con- 
dition came  about,  and  to  sketch  its  salient  features. 


Ir 

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CHAPTER  XXV 

THE   SITUATION   IN   THE   TRANSVAAL  BEFORE   THE 

RISING   OF   1895 

THE  agitation  at  Johainiesburgf,  which  Dr.  Jameson's 
ex})edition  turned  into  a  rising-,  took  phiee  in  De- 
cember, 1895.  I  spent  some  time  in  Pretoria  and  Johan- 
nesburg in  the  preceding -month,  and  had  good  opportu- 
nities of  observing  the  symptoms  of  poHtical  excitement  and 
gaging  the  tendencies  at  work  whicli  were  so  soon  to  break 
out  and  fix  the  eyes  of  the  workl  upon  the  Witwatersrand. 
The  situation  was  a  very  singular  one,  without  parallel  in 
history ;  and  though  I  did  n(jt  know  that  the  catastrophe 
was  so  near  at  hand,  it  was  easy  to  see  that  a  conflict  must 
come  and  would  prove  momentous  to  South  Africa.  Of 
this  situation  as  it  presented  itself  to  a  spectator  who  had 
no  personal  interest  involved,  and  had  the  advantage  of 
hearing  both  sides,  I  i)ropose  to  give  some  account  in  the 
present  chapter. 

To  comi)reliend  the  position  of  the  Transvaal  Boers  one 
must  know  something  of  their  historj'.  From  the  brief 
sketch  of  it  given  in  earlier  chapters  (Chapters  XI  and 
XH)  the  reader  will  have  gathered  how  unlike  they  are  to 
any  European  people  or  to  the  people  of  the  United  States. 
Severed  from  Europe  and  its  influences  two  hundred  years 

420 


THE   TKANSVAAL   BEFOKP:   THE   IHSIXG   OF    1895     421 

ago,  they  have,  in  somo  of  the  elements  of  modern  eivih- 
zation,  gone  back  ratlier  tlian  forward.  They  are  a  half- 
nomad  race,  pasturing  their  flocks  and  iierds  over  tlie  vast 
spaces  of  what  is  still  a  wilderness,  and  migrating  in  tlieir 
wagons  from  the  higher  to  the  lower  pastures  according 
to  the  season  of  the  year— 

Omnia  seeixm 
Aniu'iitarius  Afer  agit,  tectuinque  laremque 
Arma(iue,  Ainyc-la'Uiu(jtie  i-anciii,  Cvossamqiie  p}iaretran]. 

Living  entirely  in  the  open  air,  and  mostly  in  the  saddle, 
they  are  strangely  ignorant  and  backward  ir^  all  their  ideas. 
They  have  no  literature  and  very  few  newspapers.  Tlieii* 
religion  is  the  Dutch  and  Huguenot  Calvinism  of  th(»  seven- 
teentli  century,  rigid  and  stern,  hostile  to  all  new  light,  im- 
bued with  the  spirit  of  the  Old  Testament  rather  than  of 
the  New.  They  dislike  and  despise  the  Kafirs,  whom  they 
have  regarded  as  Israel  nujy  have  regarded  the  AnuiU'k- 
ites,  and  whom  they  have  treated  with  equal  severity. 
They  hate  the  English  also,  who  are  to  them  the  hereditary 
enemies  that  conquered  them  at  the  Cape ;  that  drove  them 
out  into  the  wilderness  in  IS-^fi  ;  that  annexed  their  repub- 
lic in  1877,  and  thereafter  ])roke  the  promises  of  self-gov- 
ernment made  at  the  time  of  the  annexation  ;  that  stopped 
their  expansion  on  the  west  by  occupying  Bechuanaland, 
and  on  the  north  by  occupying  ]MataV)ililand  and  Mashona- 
land ;  and  that  are  now,  as  they  believe,  plotting  to  find 
some  pretext  for  overthrowing  their  inde})endence.  Their 
usual  term  (w'hen  they  talk  among  themselves)  for  an  Eng- 
lishman is  '^rotten  egg.^^  This  hatred  is  mingled  with  a 
contempt  for  those  whom  they  d«'feated  at  Laing's  Nek  and 
Majuba  Hill,  and  with  a  fear  born  of  the  sense  that  the  Eng- 
lish are  their  superiors  in  knowledge,  in  activity,  and  in 
statecraft.    It  is  always  hard  for  a  nation  to  see  the  good 

27* 


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422 


IMPRESSIONS   OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


qualities  of  its  rivals  and  tlie  stroiiir  points  of  its  opponents' 
case ;  l)ut  witli  the  Boers  the  ditfienlty  is  all  the  greater  be- 
cause they  know  little  or  nothing  of  the  modern  world  and 
of  international  ])olities.  Two  centuries  of  solitary  pastoral 
life  have  not  only  given  them  an  aversion  for  commerce, 
for  industrial  pursuits,  and  for  finance,  but  an  absolute 
incapacity  for  su(;h  occupations,  so  that  when  gold  was 
discovered  in  their  countrv,  thev  did  not  even  attenn)t  to 
work  it,  but  were  content  to  sell,  usually  for  a  price  far 
below  its  value,  the  land  where  the  gold-reefs  lay,  and 
move  off  with  the  proceeds  to  resume  elsewhere  their  pas- 
toral life.  They  have  the  virtues  api)ropriate  to  a  simple 
society.  They  are  l)rave,  good-natured,  hospitable,  faith- 
ful to  one  another,  generally  pure  in  their  donu'stic  life, 
seldom  touched  by  avaric«  or  ambition.  But  the  corrup- 
tion of  their  legislature  shows  that  it  is  rather  to  the  ab- 
sence of  temptation  than  to  any  superior  strength  of  moral 
principles  that  these  nun-its  have  been  due.  For  politics 
they  have  little  taste  or  gift.  Politics  can  flourish  only 
where  people  are  massed  togetlier,  and  the  Boer  is  a  soli- 
tary l)eing  who  meets  his  fellows  solely  for  the  purposes 
of  religion  or  some  festive  gathering.  Yet  ignorant  and 
slow-witted  as  they  are,  inborn  ability  and  resolution  are 
not  wanting.  They  have  indeed  a  double  measure  of  wari- 
ness and  wiliness  in  their  intercourse  with  strangers,  be- 
cause their  habitual  suspicion  makes  them  seek  in  craft 
the  defense  for  their  ignorance  of  affairs ;  while  their  na- 
tive doggedness  is  confirmed  by  their  belief  in  the  continued 
guidance  and  protection  of  that  Providence  whose  hand 
led  them  through  the  wilderness  and  gave  them  the  victory 
over  all  their  enemies. 

This  was  the  people  into  whose  territory  there  came, 
after  1884,  a  sudden  swarm  of  gold-seekers.     The  Uit- 


'I 


I 


THE   TliANSVAAL   BEl'UKE   THE  lilSlNG   UF   18'Jo     iL'li 


( 


landers,  as  tlieso  stmiigors  are  called  (the  word  is  not 
really  Dutch,  I  was  told,  but  an  adaptation  from  the  (ier- 
man),  who  by  1890  had  (tome  to  equal  and  >soon  thereafter 
to  exceed  the  whole  number  of  the  Boers,  belon^vd  to 
many  stocks.  The  natives  of  England,  the  Cape,  and 
Natal  were  tlie  most  numerous,  but  there  were  also  many 
Entrlish-speaking'  men  from  other  regions,  including  Aus- 
tralians and  Americans,  a  smaller  number  of  Germans 
and  Scandinavians,  some  Russians  (mostly  Jews),  and  a 
few  Italians  and  Frenclnnen.  Unlike  as  these  newcomers 
were  to  one  another,  thev  were  all  still  more  unlike  tlie 
rude  hunting"  and  pastoral  i»eoi»lc  among  whom  they 
came.  They  were  miners,  traders,  linaiuiiers,  engineers, 
keen,  nimble-minded  men,  all  more  or  less  skilled  in  their 
respective  crafts,  all  bent  on  gain,  and  most  of  them  with 
that  sense  of  irresimnsibility  and  foiulness  for  temporary 
pleasure  which  a  chanceful  and  uncertain  life,  far  fi'om 
home,  and  relieved  from  the  fear  of  public  ojnnion,  tends 
to  produce.  Except  some  of  tlie  men  from  Cape  Colony, 
they  could  not  speak  Dutch,  and  had  no  means  of  com- 
munication, anv  more  than  thev  had  social  or  moral  affini- 
ties,  with  the  folk  of  the  land.  There  were  therefore  no 
beginnings  of  any  assimilation  between  them  and  the 
latter.  They  did  not  .iffect  the  Boers,  cxcei)t  with  a  sense  of 
repulsion,  and  still  less  did  the  Boers  affect  them.  More- 
over, there  were  few  occasions  for  socijd  contact.  The 
Uitlanders  settled  only  along  the  Witwatersrand,  and  were 
aggregated  chiefly  in  Johannesburg.  The  Boers  who  had 
lived  on  the  Rand,  except  a  few  who  came  daily  into  the 
towns  with  their  wagons  to  sell  milk  and  vegetables,  re- 
tired from  it.  It  was  only  in  Pretoria  and  in  a  few  other 
villages  that  there  was  any  direct  social  contact  between 
the  two  elements. 


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4i.M 


IMl'hKSyiUNS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


! 


Although  less  than  lialf  of  tlie  immigrants  came  from 
England,  probably  five  sixths  spoke  Englisli,  and  felt 
themselves  drawn  together  not  only  by  language,  but  l)y 
community  of  ideas  and  habits.  The  Australians,  the 
Americans,  and  the  men  from  Cai)e  Colony  and  Natal 
considered  themselves  for  all  practical— I  do  not  say  for 
all  political— purposes  to  be  English,  and  English  became 
the  general  spoken  tongue  not  only  of  Johannesburg,  but 
of  all  the  mining  districts.  Hearing  nothing  but  English 
spoken,  seeing  nothing  all  round  them  that  was  not  sub- 
stantially English,  though  with  a  half-colonial,  half- Ameri- 
can tinge,  it  was  n.itural  that  the  bulk  of  the  Uitlanders 
should  deem  themselves  to  be  in  a  countrv  which  had 
be(!ome  virtually  English,  and  should  see  something  un- 
reasonable or  oven  grotesque  in  the  control  of  a  small 
body  of  persons  whom  they  deemed  in  every  way  their  in- 
feriors. However,  before  I  describe  their  sentiments  and 
their  schemes,  some  account  nnist  be  given  of  the  govern- 
ment under  which  they  lived. 

As  was  explained  in  a  previous  chapter  (Chapter  XII), 
the  South  African  Republic  was  formed  by  the  union, 
between  1858  and  18G2,  of  several  small  and  theretofore 
practically  independent  republican  communities.  Its 
constitution  was  set  forth  in  a  document  called  the 
Grondwet,  or  "Fundamental  Law,"^  enacted  in  1858 
(partly  based  on  a  prior  draft  of  1855).  It  is  a  very 
crude,  and  indeed  rude,  instrument,  occasionally  ob- 
scure, and  containing  much  matter   not  fit  for  a   con- 


^  I  have  elsewhere  analyzed  (sec  "Forum"  for  April,  180G)  this 
constitution,  and  discussed  the  question  whether  it  is  to  be  regarded 
as  a  true  rigid  constitution,  like  that  of  the  United  States,  of  the 
Swiss  Confederation,  and  of  the  Orange  Free  State,  or  as  a  tlexible 
constitution,  alterable  by  the  ordinary  legislative  machinery. 


THE   TKANSVAAL   BEFORE   THE   KISINCJ   OF    isiC)     J'Jo 

stitutioii.  Tt  l)roatlios,  liowevor,  a  tlioroup^lily  hvo  spirit, 
save  as  repirds  Kafirs  and  Roman  Catliolics,  reccipiiz- 
ing  the  people  as  tlie  source  of  power,  laying  down  the 
old  distinction  between  the  three  de})art]nents  of  govern- 
ment,—legislative,  execntive,  and  jndicial,— and  guaran- 
teeing some  of  the  primordial  I'ights  of  the  citizen.  By  it 
the  government  was  vested  in  a  president,  head  of  the  ex- 
ecutive, and  elected  for  five  years,  an  Executive  Council  of 
five  members  (three  elected  and  two  cjr  officio),  and  a  legis- 
lature called  the  Volksraad,  elected  bv  the  citizens  on  a 
very  extended  suifrage,  and  declai'cd  to  be  the  supreme 
power  in  the  state.  The  Volksraad  consists  of  one  cliam- 
ber,  in  which  there  are  at  present  twenty-four  niem})ers. 
The  president  has  the  right  of  si)eaking,  though  not  of 
voting,  in  it,  but  has  no  veto  on  its  a^ticm.  Though  there 
are  few  constitutions  anywhere  which  give  such  unlimited 
power  to  the  legislature,  the  course  of  events— oft-recur- 
ring troubles  of  all  sorts,  native  wars,  internal  dissensions, 
financial  pressure,  (piestions  with  the  British  government 
—have  made  the  president  practically  more  im])ortant 
than  the  legislature,  and,  in  lact,  the  main  foi'cc  in  the 
Republic.  ^ '  e  Executive  Coun(^il  has  exerted  little  ])ower 
and  commanded  little  defcence,  while  the  Volksraad  has 
usually  Ix'eu  guided  by  the  president  and  has  nevei*  taken 
the  direction  of  affairs  out  of  his  hands.  Botli  legislation 
and  administration  have  been  carried  on  in  a  rough-and- 
readv  fashion,  sometimes  in  violation  of  the  strict  letter  of 
the  law ;  and  the  pro\ision  of  the  (xrondwet,  tliat  no  law 
should  be  enacted  witaout  being  submitted  for  a  i)eriod  of 
tliree  months  to  the  reople,  has  been  i)ractically  ignored  by 
the  enactment  as  laws  of  a  large  number  of  resolutions  on 
matters  not  really  urgent,  although  the  Grondwet  permits 
this  to  be  done  only  in  ca>  es  which  do  not  admit  of  delay. 


h 


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P 


li 


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42G 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFKICA 


■ 


(-.1 


■j^l. 


i  t' 


111  1(S81,  wlien  tlie  Ropu])lic  rceovercd  its  iii(l('])en(li'ii('C', 
the  country  liad  iicitlicr  roju/^,  riiihvays,  nor  tck'j^raplis. 
Its  towns  were  rou^li  lianili'ts  iJantcd  round  a  little  chnrdi. 
Its  jK'ople  had  only  tlic  bare  neeessarics  of  life.  The 
taxes  produced  scarcely  any  revenue.  Tlu;  treasury  Avas 
empty,  and  the  government  continued  to  be  hard-j)ressed 
for  money  and  unable  to  construct  ])ubli(!  works  or 
otherwise  improve  the  country  till  188."),  when  the  dis- 
covery of  <;'old  on  the  Witwatersrand  beg'an  to  turn  a 
stream  of  gold  into  its  coffers.  Riches  broujjfht  new  dif- 
liculties  and  new  temptations.  Inimi<]^rants  rushed  in,— 
cai)italists,  miners,  and  traders.  As  the  produce  of  the  ijfold- 
iield  increased,  it  became  plain  that  they  would  come  in 
ever-increasing  nund)ers.  The  old  Boers  took  alarm.  The 
rush  could  hardly  have  been  stopped,  and  to  stop  it  would 
have  involved  a  check  in  the  expansion  of  the  revenue. 
It  was  accordingly  determined  to  maintain  the  political 
.status  quo  by  excluding  these  new(!omers  from  political 
rights.  The  Grondwet  declares  (Article  VI)  that  ^' the 
territory  is  open  for  every  foreigner  who  obeys  the  laws 
of  the  Republic,"  and  as  late  as  1881  an  immigrant  could 
acquire  the  electoral  franchise  after  a  residence  of  two 
years.  In  1882,  however,  this  period  was  raised  to  five 
vears,  and  in  1887  to  fifteen.  In  1890,  bv  which  time  the 
nnenf ranch ised  strangers  had  begun  to  agitate  for  the  right 
to  l)e  represented,  a  nominal  concession  was  made  by  the 
creation  of  a  ncAv  chamber,  called  the  Second  Yolksraad, 
for  membership  in  which  the  newcomers  might  be  eligible 
after  tsking  an  oath  of  allegiance  followed  by  four  years' 
residence,  the  right  to  vote  for  elections  to  this  chamber 
being  attainable  after  the  oath  and  two  years'  residence. 
This  chamber,  however,  is  limited  to  the  consideration  of 
certain  specified  subjects,  not  including  taxation,  and  its 


r 


THE   TKANSVAAL   BEFOUE   THE   KISING   OF    18Uu     427 


acts  can  bo  overruled  })v  the  Fii'st  Volksraad,  wliile  its  as- 
sent  is  not  rcciuired  to  the  aets  of  that  body.  It  has  tliere- 
fore  turned  out  little  better  tlian  a  sluuii,  liavinj;,  in  fact. 
l)een  created  only  as  a  tub  to  throw  to  the  Uithmder  whale. 
The  etfeet  of  th<'  legislation  of  1S!)0  and  sul)se(|nenl  yars 
down  t<>  IS!)4  (len^ishition  too  intricate  and  confused  to  be 
s<'t  forth  in  detail  here)  has  l)een  to  debar  any  iniuiiirrant 
fr(»in  ac([uirin<.':  the  riudit  to  vote  for  the  Fii'st  Volksraad 
until  he  has  i)as.sed  the  a^e  of  forty  and  resided  for  at 
least  twelv(>  vears  in  the  countrv  after  takintj  the  oath  and 
bein<r  jdaeed  on  the  h)eai  government  lists,  lists  on  whieh 
the  local  authorities  are  said  to  be  nowise  ear«'ful  to  i)lace 
him.  Xor  does  birth  in  the  l\ej)ublic  confer  eiti/ensliij), 
unless  the  father  has  taken  the  oath  of  allej^ianee.  Presi- 
dent Kruji'er,  who  has  held  office  since  18s I,  was  ehietly 
instrumental  in  passinj.;  these  laws,  for  his  force  of  ehar- 
actei',  lon<^  experience  of  affairs,  and  services  in  tlie  crisis  of 
1H77-81  o-ave  h 


im  imnu'Tise  pow( 


rover  the  IJaad,  in  which 


he  constantly  spoke,  threatenini,'  the  mend)ers  with  the  loss 
of  national  inde})endence  unless  they  took  steps  to  stem  the 
risin<;  tide  of  foreiy'u  intbience.  As  a  ])atriot,  he  feai'cd 
the  Eniilisli ;  as  a  Boer  Puritan  of  the  old  stubborn  stock, 
he  hated  all  foreigners  and  foreiun  wavs,  seein«'  in  them 


th 


of  h 


)le.     lb 


iiin  of  the  ancient  custo 
this  antaii'onism  so  far  that,  beinj^  unal)le  to  find  Jimonji: 
his  citizens  men  sufficiently  educated  to  deaJ  with  the 
ji^rowino:  nuiss  of  administrative  work  \v'bicli  the  increase 
of  wealth,  industry,  and  commerce  broujjht,  he  refused  to 
appoint  Dutch-.speaking  men  from  the  Cape  or  Natal,  be- 
cause tliev  were  natives  of  British  colonies,  and  recruited 
his  civil  service  from  Holland.  The  Hollanders  he  im- 
ported were  far  more  strange  to  the  country  than  Ca})e 
Dutchmen  would  have  been,  and  the  Boers  did  not,  and  do 


1^ 


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42S 


IMPRi:S8I0NS  OF   SOUTH    AFRICA 


not  now,  take  kindly  to  tlicni.  Hut  thoy  woro,  by  the 
necessity  of  their  position,  anti-Kn},'lish,  and  that  was 
enon^'li. 

Meanwliile  tlie  old  Boer  virtnes  were  g'v'  2:  way  under 
new  temptations.  The  V<>lksraad  (as  is  '•  ally  believed) 
became  corrupt,  thou^'^h  of  course  there  ..ave  always  l)een 
upi'ijjht  and  ptirc  men  amonj;  its  members.  The  civil 
service  was  not  above  susjticioii.  h'ich  men  and  powerful 
corporati<ms  surroun«le<l  those  who  had  con(M'ssi<ms  to 
jrive  or  the  means  of  intlucncin<j:  ]e<rislation,  whetlier  di- 
rectly or  indirectly.  The  very  iuexi)ericnee  of  the  Hoer 
ranelnnan  who  came  up  as  a  member  of  the  Volksraad 
made  him  an  easy  prey.  All  sorts  of  abuses  si)ran<j:  up, 
while  the  primary  duties  of  a  fj^overnment  were  very  im- 
perfectly i)erforiticd.  Hardly  any  administration  was 
needed  whil(>  the  Transvaal  had  a  population  of  wander- 
ing,' stock  farmers,  l^ut  when  one  hundred  thousand 
white  immi<j:rants  were  conjjre^ated  along  the  Wit- 
watersrand,  and  were  employin<j:  some  sixty  thousand 
native  work-])eople,  an  efficient  police,  an  abundant  water- 
sui>ply,  good  sanitary  regulations,  and  laws  to  keep  liquor 
fi'om  the  natives,  became  urgently  needed ;  and  none  of 
these  things  was  ])rovided,  although  taxation  continued  to 
ris(^  and  the  treasury  was  overflowing.  Accordingly,  the 
discontent  of  the  Uithmders  increased.  It  was  no  longer 
a  mere  ipiesticni  of  obtaining  political  rights  for  their  own 
sake  ;  it  was  also  a  question  of  winning  political  power  in  or- 
der to  reform  the  administration,  and  so  secure  those  prac- 
tical benefits  which  the  president  and  the  Volksniad  and 
the  Hollander  officials  were  either  unable  or  unwilling  to 
give.  In  1892  an  association,  called  the  National  Union, 
was  formed  by  a  number  of  Uitlanders,  "to  obtain,  by  all 
constitutional  means,  equal  rights  for  all  citizens  of  the 


TIIK   TKANSVAAL   BKFUKK   TIIK    UlSi.Nii    UF    isiC,     4-J\) 


H»'|)ul»li<',  and  tlic  ivdrrss  of  all  ^'nevaiices."  Althou^;li 
nearly  all  those  who  foniicd  it  were  natives  either  of  Huir- 
lund  or  of  the  I^ritish  colonies,  it  did  not  seek  to  btin;; 
the  country  under  Hritisli  control,  hut  included  anituiir  its 
aims  "the  nuiintenimce  of  the  independence  of  the  He- 
public."  Nevertheless,  it  incurred  the  hostility  ot  the 
president  and  his  friends,  and  its  [)etitions  were  uncere- 
moniously repidsed.  This  tended  to  accentuate  the  anti- 
Boer  feeling  of  the  Uithmdcrs,  so  that  when  Sir  II.  Loch, 
the  High  Commissioner,  came  up  fi'om  the  Cape  in  1S!)4 
to  negotiate  regarding  Swaziland  and  other  pending  (pie.s- 
tions,  he  was  made  the  object  of  a  vehement  demonstra- 
tion at  I'retoria.  The  English  took  the  horses  out  of  his 
carriage  and  drew  it  through  the  streets,  waving  the  Brit- 
ish Hag  even  over  the  head  of  I'residcnt  Ki'ugcr  himself,  and 
shouting  "  Keform  !  Heform  !  "  This  incident  rcdouldcd 
3Ir.  Krugev's  apprehensions,  but  did  not  shake  his  purpo.se. 
It  suggested  new  jdans  to  the  L'itlanders.  who  had  (.shortly 
before)  been  further  incensed  by  the  denumd  of  the  gov- 
ernment that  they  slumld,  although  debai  ed  from  the 
suffrage,  serve  in  a  military  commando  sent  again.st  the 
Kalir  <'hief  Malabocli.  Despairing  of  constitutional  agi- 
tation, they  began  to  provide  themselves  with  arms  and 
to  talk  of  a  general  rising.  Another  cause,  which  1  liave 
not  yet  mentioned,  had  recently  sharpened  their  eagerness 
for  reforms.  Al)out  1892  the  theory  was  propounded  that 
tlie  gold-bearing  reefs  miglit  be  worked  not  only  near  the 
sui'face,  but  also  at  much  greater  dej)ths,  and  that,  owing 
to  the  diminution  of  the  angle  of  the  dip  as  the  beds  de- 
scend into  the  earth,  a  much  greater  mass  of  gold-bearing 
rock  might  be  reached  than  had  been  formerly  deemed  pos- 
sible. This  view,  soon  confirmed  by  experimental  borings, 
promised  a  far  longer  life  to  the  mines  than  had  been  pre- 


!■  2 


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V 


;!' 


i( 


i. 


i* 


4:jo 


IMI'KKSSIONS   OK   WOl'TII    Al'UlCA 


'H 


vifMisly  cxpcotcd.  Tliosc  who  Imd  come  to  tlic  Kniid  tliink- 
iii^  llu'V  nii^'lit  i>rol»al»ly  li'iiv*;  it  at'ti-r  u  tvw  ymrs  now 
coiMM'ivcMl  tln'  idt'ii  of  pmuiiiiciit  residence,  wliiU'  the  dii'ec- 
tors  «>f  the  ^Teat  mining'  (MtMipanies,  pereeiviiij;  iiow  niueh 
tlieir  inchistry  niij^'ht  he  (h'velojied,  smarted  more  than  ever 
undei'tiie  nialadministniliou  and  exactions  from  wliieh  tiio 
in(histrv  sulTereth 

These  were  the  events  and  tliese  the  eanses  tliat  had 
hron^lit  ahout  the  state  of  tiiin<;s  winch  a  visit<»r  saw  at 
Pretoria  and  Jolianneshur^  in  Xovemher,  IS!).').  licvo- 
hition  was  ah'cady  in  tiic  air,  hut  few  coiihl  {.ruess  wiiat 
form  it  wouhl  take.  Tlie  situation  was  a  complicated  one, 
hecuuse  eacli  of  the  two  main  sections  of  tlie  population, 
Hoers  and  UitlaiuUn's,  was  itself  suhdivided  into  minor 
uroups.  The  Uitlanders  were  of  many  nationalities;  Itnt 
those  who  spoke  Knjjflish  were  so  much  the  most  numerous 
—  prohaltly  tivc  sixths  of  tlie  whole  — that  I  shall  speak  of 
them  only,  dismissin<;  the  other  sixth  with  the  renuirk 
that  while  nuiny  of  them  sympatliized  with  the  Keforni 
movenu'ut,  few  o^  them  ^avc  it  active  sujiport,  while  most 
of  the  Germans,  moved  by  anti-British  feeling,  favored 
Tresident  Kniger's  government. 

The  English  seetu)n,  including  Cape  and  Natal  men, 
Australians  ami  Anu'ricans,  consisted  of  three  sets  of  })er- 
sons :  the  middle  classes,  the  capitalist  mine-owners,  and  the 
working-men.  The  middle-class  people,  traders,  ])rofes- 
sional  men,  engineers,  and  the  like,  either  belonged  to  or 
were  in  sympathy  with  the  National  Union.  It  was  they 
who  had  formed  it.  They  had  recently  presented  to  the 
Volksraad  a  petition,  signed  by  thirty-eight  thousand  non- 
enfranchised  residents,  asking  for  reforms,  and  this  i)eti- 
tion  had  been  scornfully  rejected,  one  member  saying, 
with   no  disapproval  from   his   colleagues,   that   if  the 


-;-fe. 


TlIK  TUANSVAAL   UKl'OUK  THE   KISIN(J   ol'    lM».-<     iM 


fliiiik- 


Rh'aiipTs  wmitcfl  \o  p't  wlmt  tlioy  called  tlicir  ri^'lits  tin  v 
would  have  to  li^'lit  foi*  them.  Tlu'ir  ii^'itatioii  iiail  Imcii 
coiidiictcd  pulilicly  and  on  constitutioiud  liiit's.  witlioiit 
threats oi'  force.  It  was  Iteroiniii;;  plain,  liowever.  that  sonic 
at  IcMst  of  the  leaders  were  now  jtrepared  to  iise  force  and 
wouhl  take  arms  when  a  prospect  of  success  appealed.  I  Jut 
umh'r  what  lla^'  would  they  lic:ht  .'  Would  they  adliei-c  to 
their orij^nnal  i<lea,aiHhnaintainan  independent  South  Afri- 
can repidilic  wlu'ii  they  had  ejected  the  donunant  oiiuai'chy 
and  secured  political  [lower  for  all  residents.'  Or  wonld 
thev  hoist  the  I'nion  Jack  and  carrv  the  country  hack 
nudcrthe  liritish  crown?  No  one  couhl  speak  ]iositively, 
hut  most  thonjjrht  that  the  former  course  woidd  he  taken. 
The  Americans  would  he  for  it.  Most  of  the  ('a[)e  jieople 
who  i'liUH'  of  Dutch  stock  would  he  for  it.  V]\vu  anionir 
the  pure  En^di.sh,  some  talked  hitterly  of  3lajuha  Hill,  and 
ilcclared  they  would  not  fi«,dit  to  jjivo  the  country  hack 
to  IJritain,  which  had  ahandoncd  it  in  ISSl.  The  motives 
of  these  h'eformers  were  simple  and  ]>atcnt.  Those  of  them 
who  had  heeu  Itorn  or  lived  lon^'  in  Africa  thou«,dit  it  an 
intolerahh^  wronj^  that,  whereas  everywhere  else  in  South 
Afi'ica  they  could  acquire  the  sutfra^^'  and  th<'  means  of 
intlueucinjj^  the  government  after  two  or  three  years'  resi- 
dence, they  were  here  treated  as  inferiors,  <'ondemned  to  a 
long  disahility,  and  denied  all  voice  in  aj)plyin<r  the  taxes 
which  they  paid.  Thinking  of  South  Africa  as  practically 
one  country,  they  complained  that  here,  and  la-re  only,  were 
they  deemed  aliens.  Both  they  and  all  the  other  Uitlanders 
had  suhstantial  grievances  to  redress.  Food  was  inordi- 
nately dear,  because  a  high  tariff  had  been  imposed  on  im- 
ports. Water-supply,  i)olice,  sanitation,  were  all  neglected. 
Not  only  was  Dutch  the  official  language,  but  in  the  i)ul)lic 
schools  Dutch  was  the  onlv  medium  of  instruction ;  and 


I 


I'l 


'  .  i 


I 


1^'    h 


0 


432 


IMPRESSIONS   OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


t<        i 


III 


■  t 


English  (ihildren  were  compelled  to  learn  arithmetic,  geog- 
rai)hy,  and  history  out  of  Dutch  text-books.  It  was  these 
abuses,  much  more  than  any  wisJi  to  bring  the  Transvaal 
under  the  British  flag,  or  to  establish  a  South  African 
Confederation,  that  disposed  them  to  revolt  against  a  gov- 
ernment which  they  despised. 

The  mine-owning  capitalists  were  a  very  small  class, 
but  j)0werfid  by  their  wealth,  their  intelligence,  and  their 
influence  over  those  whom  they  eniployed.  They  had  held 
ah>of  from  the  agitation  which  began  in  1892,  l)ecause 
thev  did  not  themselves  cave  for  the  franchise,  not  mean- 
ing  to  spend  their  lives  in  the  Transvaal,  and  because  they 
knew  that  political  disturbances  would  interfere  with  the 
mining  industry.  The  leading  man,  and  certainly  one  of 
the  ablest  men  among  them,'  foresaw  trouble  as  far  back 
as  June,  1S()4,  when  he  wrote  that  the  unrest  of  the  coun- 
try canu'  "from  the  oi)en  hostility  of  the  government 
to  the  Uitlanders,  and  its  hostility  to  all  i)rin(;ij)les  of 
sound  govei'nment ;  the  end  will  be  revolution  "  ;  and  when 
a  few  weeks  later  he  wrote  again  :  "  The  mining  companies 
ought  to  have  arms.  The  coin-age  of  the  Boers  is  exag- 
gerated. If  they  knew  there  were  in  Johanneslnirg  three 
thousand  well-armed  nu^n,  thev  would  not  talk  so  loud 
of  destroying  the  town."  Nevertheless,  these  capitalists, 
like  capitalists  all  over  the  world,  disliked  force,  and 
long  refused  to  throw  themselves  into  the  movement. 
They  raistnl  a  fund  for  the  purpose  of  trying  "  to  get  a 
better  Volksraad  " — whether  by  influencing  members  or  by 
supplying  funds  for  election  expenses  has  never  been  made 
clear.  However,  these  efforts  failed,  and  they  became  at 
last  convinced  that  the  loss  to  their  industrv  from  mis- 

^  Copies  of  the  letters  written  by  Mr.  Lionel  Phillips  were  seized 
after  the  rising  and  published  by  the  Boer  government. 


.uMlutl. 


a  ^ov- 


THE   TliANSVAAL   BEFOKE   THE   KISING   OF    1895     4^3 

government  was,  and  would  continue,  greater  than  any 
loss  which  temporary  disturbances  mi^ht  involve.  The 
vista  of  deep-level  minhig,  wiiich  had  now  opened  itself 
before  them,  made  their  j^rievances  seem  heavier.  Before 
they  entered  on  a  new  series  of  enterprises,  which  would 
at  first  be  costly,  they  wished  to  relieve  minin«r  from  the 
intoleral»le  burdens  of  a  dynamite  mono})oly,  foolishly  or 
corrui)tly  ji'ranted  to  a  firm  which  charg'cd  an  extortionate 
price  for  this  necessary ;  of  a  high  tariff  both  on  food-stuffs, 
involving  large  expenses  in  feeding  the  work-people,  and  on 
mine  nuichinery  ;  of  extravagantly  heavy  railway  rates  for 
coal;  and  of  a  system  which,  by  making  it  easy  for  the 
Kafir  workers  to  get  drunk,  redui'ed  the  availal)le  amount 
of  native  labor  by  one  third,  and  increased  the  numl)ci'  of 
accidents  in  the  mines.  These  ])urdens  made  the  difference 
of  one  or  two  or  three  per  cent,  on  the  dividend  in  the  best 
mines,  threatened  the  prospect  of  any  dividend  on  the  sec- 
ond-best, and  made  it  useless  to  j)ersever<;  with  the  working 
of  a  third  class,  where  the  ore  was  of  a  still  lower  grade. 
Such  were  the  considerations  which  at  last  determined  sev- 
eral of  the  leading  mine-owners  to  throw  in  their  lot  with 
the  Reform  party ;  and  the  fusion  of  the  two  streams  gave  a 
new  force  to  the  movement.  This  fusion  took  place  in  the 
middle  of  ISO.'),  and  had  become  known  to  many,  though 
not  to  all,  of  the  Johannesburgers  in  November  of  that 
year.  It  inspired  them  with  fresh  hopes,  and  nuule  them 
think  that  the  dav  of  action  was  near.  Needless  to  sav 
that  the  object  of  these  capitalists  was  simply  good  and 
cheap  goveriiment,  not  the  extinction  of  the  Republic  or 
its  addition  to  the  territories  of  Britain.  This,  however, 
was  not  the  main  olg'ect  of  Mr.  Rhodes,  with  whom  they 
were  (though  this  was  known  only  to  a  very  few  of  tlie 
leaders)  by  this  time  in  communication.     Although  he  was 

28 


m 


>'*i 


I 


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if! 


k 


n 


hi 


1 


i\ 


» 


■if^-r'i^m 


n 


!     ', 


I   I 


.  i 


*     r  \ 


•  'III 

il 


r  I 


,A    \ 


}  \ 


4:i-i 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


largely  interested  in  some  of  the  mines,  his  aim  was,  as  has 
now  been  admitted  even  by  his  opponents,  not  a  pecuniary 
one.  It  was  to  prevent  the  Transvaal  from  passing  under 
anti-British  influences,  and  to  secure  tliat  it  should  ulti- 
mately become  incorporated  in  a  self-governing  confed- 
eration of  the  several  states  and  colonies  of  South  Africa 
under  the  British  crown.  Tliere  were  probabh-  others 
among  the  leaders  who  shared  this  purpose ;  but  some  did 
not,  and  here  was  a  question  to  be  determined.  There  was 
to  be  a  rising,  but  under  what  flag  ?  This  vital  point  was 
left  unsettled,  and  at  the  last  moment  it  caused  a  fatal 
delay. 

The  third  class  of  Uitlanders  consisted  of  the  white 
workmen.  It  was  the  most  numerous  class,  and  its  action 
would  evidently  be  decisive.  AVhen  the  visitor  who  heard 
the  situation  discussed— for  there  was  no  secrecv  observed 
—asked  about  the  attitude  of  the  working-men,  he  received 
no  very  definite  answer.  The  general  ])elief  was  that  thev 
would  respond  to  a  call  to  arms:  some  from  patriotism, 
because  they  were  mostly  Englishmen  jind  Australians; 
some  because  they  meant  to  make  the  Transvaal  their 
home,  and  had  an  interest  in  good  government ;  some  from 
sympathy  with  their  employers ;  some  from  the  love  of  a 
fight,  because  they  were  men  of  mettle.  One  or  two  of 
the  Reform  leaders  were  able  speakers,  and  meant  to  rouse 
them  by  eloquence  when  the  pro])er  nu)ment  arrived.  The 
result  showed  that  a  majority— that  is,  of  the  English- 
speaking  workmen— were  willing  to  fight ;  but  others,  in- 
cluding many  of  the  Cornish  miners,  were  indifferent,  and 
when  the  day  of  battle  came,  they  departed  by  train  amid 
the  jeers  of  their  comrades. 

These  three  sections  of  Uitlanders  constituted  a  numer- 
ical majority  not  merely  of  the  dwellers  on  the  Rand,  but 


s,  as  has 
euiiiary 
g  under 
lid  iilti- 
CDiit'ed- 
i  Africa 

others 
)nie  did 
ere  was 
)iiit  was 

a  fatal 

L^  white 
s  action 
o  heard 
bserved 
•eceived 
lat  tliev 
riotism, 
raHans; 
al  tlieir 
ne  from 
jve  of  a 
two  of 
to  rouse 
1.  The 
■^imlish- 


lers,  in- 
int,  and 
in  amid 


numer- 
md,  but 


THE   TKANSVAAL  BEFOKE   THE   KliSING   OF   1895    43D 

of  the  whok*  white  popuhition  of  the  country.'  There  are 
about  G5,000  Boers,  all  told,  and  al)out  24,000  male  citizens 
over  tne  age  of  sixteen.  The  English-speaking  Uithmders 
numbered  more  than  100,000,  of  whom  fully  one  half 
were  adult  males.  Seven  eighths  of  tliese  were  gathered 
on  the  Kand.  Had  they  been  armed  and  drilled  and 
unanimous  thev  would  have  been  irresistible.  But  thev 
were  not  unanimous,  and  were,  moreover,  not  only  un- 
armed but  also  unorganized,  being  a  crowd  of  persons 
suddenly  gathered  from  the  four  winds  of  heaven. 

Over  against  the  Uitlanders  stood  the  native  Boer  po]»u- 
lation,  among  whom  we  must  distinguish  two  classes. 
The  majority,  c<msisting  of  the  old  "true  blues,''  who 
hated  the  English  and  clung  to  their  national  ways,  sup- 
ported the  government  in  its  stubl)orn  refusal  to  grant 
reforms.  The  President  in  i)articular  had  repeatedly  de- 
clared himself  agahist  any  concession,  insisting  that  no 
concessions  would  satisfy  the  disaffected.  He  looked  upon 
the  whole  movement  as  a  scheme  to  desti'oy  the  inde])en- 
dence  of  the  countrv  and  hand  it  over  to  England.  Excr- 
cising,bv  his  constant  harangues  in  the  Volksraad,  what  has 
been  called  a  "dictatorship  of  persuasion,"  he  warned  the 
people  that  their  customs,  their  fivedom.  their  religion, 
were  at  stake,  and  could  be  saved  onlv  bv  keei)inir  the  new- 
comers  out  of  jjower.  He  was  confirmed  in  this  policy  of 
resistance  by  the  advice  of  his  Hollander  officials,  and 
especially  of  the  State  Secretary,  an  able  and  resolute  man. 

But  the  President,  though  powerful,  was  not  omnipo- 
tent. There  existed  a  considerable  party  opposed  to  him, 
which  had  nearly  overthrown   him  at   ilie   last   pi'cc^ed- 

1  Tliero  we""  some  700,000  Kafirs  in  the  Transvaal,  but  no  one 
reckoned  theiu  as  possible  factors  in  a  contest,  any  more  than  sheep 
or  oxen. 


H 


HI 


it 


'S 


It 


! 


\ 


!t  I 


'  i; 


J'i! 


n 


I 


i  1 

r 

> 

1 

4 

1 

i 

•J, 


^ 


''■  i 


430 


IMI'KESSIUNS   OF   SOUTH   AKKICA 


iu«|f  l)re.si(lciitial  election.  There  was  in  the  Yolksruad  a 
liberal  minority,  wliieh  advocated  reforms.  There  were 
amon<^  the  country  Boers  a  number  of  moderate  men  who 
disliked  the  ll<)llander  influence  and  the  maladnunistration 
of  the  jj^overnment,  and  one  was  told  (tliousi;:h  with  what 
truth  I  could  not  ascertain)  that  the  trekking^  which  went 
on  out  of  the  Transvaal  into  Mashonaland  and  to  the  far 
northwest  was  partly  due  to  this  discontent.  There  was 
also  much  opposition  anionj^  the  lej^al  i)rofession,  Dutch  as 
well  as  English,  for  attacks  had  been  made  upon  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  judiciary,  and  the  reckless  conduct  of 
le<,aslation  gave  displeasure.  So  far  back  as  1894  the  Chief 
Justice,  a  man  greatly  respected  for  his  abilities  and  his 
services  to  the  state,  had  delivered  a  public  address  warn- 
ing the  people  against  the  dangers  which  threatened 
them  from  neglect  of  the  provisions  of  the  cimstitution. 
Whether  this  party  of  opposition  among  the  enfranchised 
citizens  would  have  aided  the  Reform  movement  was  doubt- 
ful. Tliev  would  certainlv  not  have  done  so  had  the  British 
flag  been  raised.  But  if  the  movement  had  sought  only 
the  destruction  of  Hollander  influence  and  the  redress  of 
grievances,  thej'  would  at  any  rate  have  refused  to  j(jin  in 
resisting  it. 

"Why,"  it  may  be  asked— "why,  under  these  circum- 
stances, with  so  many  open  enemies  and  so  manv  wavering 
supporters,  did  not  President  Kruger  ])ow  to  the  storm 
and  avert  revolt  by  reasonable  (concessions  ? "  He  had  not 
a  friend  in  the  world  except  Germany,  which  had  gone 
out  of  her  ray  to  offer  him  symi)athy.  But  Germany  was 
distant,  and  he  had  no  sea])ort.  The  people  of  the  Orange 
Free  State  had  been  ready  to  help  the  Transvaal  in  1881, 
and  from  aniong  the  Boers  of  Cape  Colorv  there  might  in 
the  crisis  of  that  year  have  come  substantial  succor.     But 


i 


THE   TRANSVAAL   BEFOliK   TIIK   RISING   OF    1895     i:i7 

l)(>th  tint  Fvoi'  Stato  and  the  Capo  Boers  liad  })een  alienated 
l»y  tlie  hostile  tariff  wliieh  the  President  had  set  up  apiinst 
tlieir  food-stuffs  and  by  liis  refusal  to  employ  Ca])e  Duteli- 
nK'U  in  the  Transvaal  service.  The  annovanee  of  these 
kindre<l  eomniunities  had  been  verv  I'eeentlv  accentuated 
by  a  dispute  about  the  drifts  on  the  Orjin^e  Hirer.  It  was 
therefore  improbable  thai  any  lielp  eoukl  be  obtained 
from  outside  against  a  purely  internal  movement,  which 
aimed  solely  at  reform,  and  did  not  threaten  the  life  of 
the  Republic. 

The  answer  to  the  question  just  put  is  to  be  found  not  so 
much  in  the  material  interests,  as  in  the  sentiments  of  the 
old  Boer  l)arty.  They  extended  their  hatred  of  tl»e  English 
to  the  English-si)eaking  Uitlanders  generally,  and  saw  m 
the  whole  movement  nothing  but  an  English  plot.  If  the 
President  had  cared  to  distin;:uish,  he  might  have  per- 
ceived that  the  capitalists  cared  not  for  the  framdiise,  ])ut, 
for  the  success  of  their  mines ;  and  he  n)ight,  by  abolishing 
the  wasteful  concessions,— which  did  not  even  enrich  the 
state,  Init  only  the  objects  of  its  ill-directed  l)ounty,— l)y 
reducing  the  tariff,  and  by  keeping  drink  from  the  blacks, 
have  disarmed  the  hostilitv  (^)f  tlie  mine  owners,  and  had 
only  the  Xatiimal  I'nion  to  deal  with.  Even  th<'  National 
Union  would  have  lost  most  (^f  its  support  if  he  had  re- 
formed the  administration  and  allowed  English  to  be  used 
in  the  schools.  He  might  have  taken  a  hint  from  the 
Romans,  who.  when  they  admitted  a  body  of  new  citizens, 
managed  to  restrict  their  voting  power ;  and  might,  in  grant- 
ing the  suffrage  to  persons  who  had  resided  for  a  certain 
period  on  the  Rand,  have  kept  the  representation  of  the 
Rand  district  so  small  as  not  to  turn  the  balance  against  the 
old  Boer  party  in  the  Volksraad.  Had  he  gone  further, 
and  extended  the  franchise  to  all  immigrants  after,  say,  five 


' 


I  'I 

iVJi 


c 


1^^ 

i  i 


I 

ir 


J" 


28" 


'I 


438 


IMPRESSIONS   OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


M7 


years'  residence,  he  inijfht  not  only  have  disarmed  opp<v 
siti()n,  but  have  made  the  South  African  Kcpuhlic  a  power- 
ful state,  no  consideral)le  section  of  whose  inha])itants 
would  thereafter  have  thoug'ht  of  ]>uttin«j:  themselves  under 
the  British  crown.  To  have  jj^one  tliis  length  would  no 
douht  have  l)een  to  take  the  risk  that  the  i-epul)li(;  of 
Boers  nii«rht  become  before  long  a  republic  of  Englislnien, 
with  an  English  president;  and  from  this  he  naturally 
recoiled,  not  merely  out  of  personal  anil)ition,  but  out  of 
honest  national  feeling.  But  short  of  this,  he  might,  by 
dividing  his  enemies,  have  averted  a  grave  peril,  from 
which  he  was  in  the  end  delivered,  not  by  his  own  strength, 
but  by  the  mistakes  of  his  antagonists.  However,  he  kept 
the  ship  steadily  on  her  course.  He  had  grown  accustomed 
to  the  complaints  of  the  agitators,  and  thought  they  would 
not  go  beyond  agitation.  When  i)ress"d  to  take  some 
re})ressive  measure,  he  answered  that  you  must  wait  for 
the  tortoise  to  put  its  head  out  before  you  hit  it,  and  he 
appeared  to  think  it  would  keep  its  head  in.  He  is  one  of 
the  most  interesting  figures  of  our  time,  this  old  President, 
shrewd,  cool,  dogged,  wary,  courageous ;  typifying  the 
qualities  of  his  people,  and  strong  because  he  is  in  s^'m- 
pathy  with  them ;  adding  to  his  trust  in  Providence  no 
small  measure  of  worldly  craft ;  uneducated,  l)ut  able  to 
foil  the  statesmen  of  Europe  by  their  own  weapons,  and 
perhaps  all  the  more  capable  because  his  training  has  been 
wholly  that  of  an  eveniful  life  and  not  of  books. 

This  was  how  things  stood  in  the  Transvaal  in  Novem- 
ber, 1895.  People  have  talked  of  a  conspiracy,  but  never 
})efore  was  there,  except  on  the  stage,^  so  open  a  conspiracy. 

1  This  operatic  element  appeared  in  the  rising  itself,  when  a  fire- 
escape,  skilfully  disguised  to  resemble  a  Maxim  gi  ',  was  moved  back- 
ward and  forward  across  the  stage  at  Johannesburg  for  the  purpose 
of  frightening  the  Boers  at  a  distance. 


(I  oppo- 
i  powcr- 
tibitants 
I's  under 
ould  no 
ul)li(;  of 
islnien, 
iiturallv 
t  out  of 
ij,dit,  by 
il,  from 
tren^th, 
lie  kept 
iistomod 
V  would 
ce  some 
wiiit  for 
,  and  ho 
s  one  of 
resident, 
'ing  tlie 
in  sym- 
lenee  no 
]  able  to 
ons,  and 
las  been 

Novem- 
ut  never 
ispiracy. 

len  a  fire- 
ved  back- 
e  purpose 


J' 


THE   TKANSVAAL   BP:F0KE   THE   lilSINi;   OF    181)-)    4;}9 

Two  thirds  (^'  the  action  — tliere  wns  anotlicr  tliii-d,  whieli 
ijascnlv  sul)se(|urutlv  ])ee()me  known  — went  on  before  the 
public.  Tlie  visitor  had  hardly  instaUed  himself  in  an 
hotel  at  Pretoria  l»efore  people  heg'an  to  tell  him  that  .'in 
insurrection  was  inuninent,  that  arms  were  being  imported, 
that  Maxim  gnns  were  hidden,  and  would  l)e  shown  lo  him 
if  he  eared  to  see  them,  an  invitation  which  he  did  not 
feel  called  on  to  accept.  In  Johannesburg  little  else  was 
talked  (tf,  not  in  dark  corners,  but  at  the  club,  where 
everybody  lunches,  and  between  the  acts  at  the  phiy. 
There  was  something  humorous  in  hearing  the  English, 
who  dominate  in  so  many  other  places,  talking  of  them- 
selves as  a  downtrodden  mitionalitv,  and  the  Boers  as  their 

%,     7 

oi)pressors,  declaring  that  misgoverinnent  could  not  go  on 
forever,  and  that  those  who  would  be  free  themselves 
must  strike  the  blow.  The  effect  was  increased  by  tlie 
delightf  d  unconsciousness  of  the  English  tlui.t  the  Irish 
denounc'3  Saxon  tvrannv  in  very  similar  terms.  This 
knowledge  of  an  impending  insurrection  was  not  contined 
to  the  Transvaal.  All  over  South  Africa  one  heard  the 
same  story;  all  over  South  Africa  men  waited  f<;r  n(;ws 
from  Johannesl)urg,  though  few  expected  the  explosion  to 
come  so  soon.  One  thing  alone  was  not  even  j^uessed  at. 
In  November  it  did  not  seem  to  have  crossed  any  one's 
mind  that  the  British  South  Africa  Company  would  have 
any  hand  in  the  matter.  Had  it  been  supposed  that  it 
was  concerned,  much  of  the  sympathy  which  the  move- 
ment received  would  have  vanished. 

As  I  am  not  writing  a  history  of  the  revolution,  but 
merely  describing  the  Johannesburg  aspects  of  it,  I  need 
not  attempt  the  task— for  which,  indeed,  no  sufficient  ma- 
terials as  yet  exist— of  explaining  by  what  steps  and  on 
what  terms  the  Company's  managing  director  and  its 
administrator  and  its  police  came  into  the  plan.     But 


\t 


:'/ 


i .. 


!  >l 


% 


I;' 


II' 


w 


1! 


r 


t' 


f  / 


, 


.1 


H. 


J 


1 ... 


440 


LMI'KESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFKK'A 


it  seems  clear  that  the  Johaiiiieslnii-^  headers  did  not 
be^in  to  count  upon  liclj)  from  tlic  Company's  fon-o 
hefore  the  middle  of  1895  at  earliest,  and  that  tliey 
did  not  regard  that  force  as  anytliing  more  than  an 
ultimate  resource  in  case  of  extremt'  need.  Knowing 
that  the  Hand  Uitlanders,  on  whose  support  they  «'ount('d, 
would  be  unorganized  and  leaderless,  they  desired,  as  the 
moment  for  action  approached,  to  have  a  military  nucleus 
round  which  their  raw  levies  might  gather,  in  case  the 
Boers  seemed  likely  to  press  them  hai-d.  But  tins  was  an 
afterthought.  When  the  movement  began,  it  was  a  purely 
J(dianncs))urg  movenuMit,  and  it  was  intended  to  bear  that 
charac^ter  to  the  end,  and  to  avoid  all  ai)pearance  of  l)eing 
an  English  invasion.' 

To  the  visitor  who  saw  and  he.ard  what  I  have  been  de- 
scribing—and no  Englishman  could  pass  through  without 
seeing  and  hearing  it— two  questions  naturally  presented 
themselves.  One  related  to  the  merits  of  the  case.  This 
was  a  question  which  only  a  visitor  considered,  fov  the 
inhabitants  were  all  committed  on  one  side  or  the  other. 

1  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  poiut  out  the  absxu'dity  of  the  state- 
ment, frequently  made  within  the  last  few  months,  that  the  Company 
intended  to  seize  the  Transvaal  for  itself.  The  Company  eould  no 
more  have  taken  the  Transvaal  than  it  could  have  taken  Natal.  What 
the  insurgent  Uitlanders  were  to  rise  for  was  self-government,  and 
they  would  have  objected  to  be  governed  by  the  Company  at  least 
as  much  as  they  objected  to  be  governed  Viy  the  Boers.  Such  indi- 
vidual members  of  the  Company  as  held  Rand  mining  shares  would 
have  profited  by  the  better  administration  of  the  country  under  a  re- 
formed government,  but  they  would  have  profited  in  exactly  the  same 
way  as  shareholders  in  Paris  or  Amsterdam.  This  point,  obvious 
enough  to  any  one  who  knows  South  Africa,  is  dearly  put  by  M.  Mer- 
meix,  in  his  interesting  little  book,  "La  Revolution  de  Johannes- 
burg." Other  fancifid  hypotheses  have  been  put  forward,  which  it 
seems  needless  to  notice. 


'11  (lo- 


i 


% 


THE   THANSVAAI,   liKFOHK   TIIK    HISING    OF    1S05     441 

It  was  ji  <'as«>  wliicli  raisj'd  a  point  oftoii  «l('l)nt('<l  ]>y  moral- 
ists: Wliat  arc  tlic  circunistaiuM's  wliich  iustit'v  iiisurrcc- 
tioii  /  Sonic  cases  are  too  clear  for  arfjruniciit.  <)l)viously 
any  subject  of  a  l)loo(lthirsty  tyrant  riilin<,'  witliout  or 
ajjfainst  law  is  justified  in  taking  u})  arms.  No  one  (loM})ts 
tliat  the  Christian  subjects  of  the  Sultan  (nijrlit  to  rcliel  if 
they  had  a  prospect  of  success;  and  those  wlio  try  to  make 
them  rebel  are  blamed  only  because  the  jtrospect  of  success 
is  wanting.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  clear  that  subjects 
of  a  cimstitutional  p)vernnicnt,  conducted  in  accordance 
•with  law,  do  wrong  and  must  be  punished  if  they  take 
arms,  even  when  they  have  grievances  to  redress.  In 
South  Africa,  however,  new  states  have  so  recently  been 
established,  and  the  Transvaal  in  parti<'ular  has  }»een  so  fa- 
miHar  with  warfare,  that  men's  minds  have  n<»t  settled  down 
into  a  proper  legality  of  view.  Ueformers  held  that  the 
Boer  government  was  an  oligarchy  which  ovei'taxed  its  sub- 
jects, and  yet  refused  them  those  benefits  which  a  civilized 
government  is  bound  to  give.  It  was  the  govei'iimeiit  of  a 
small  and  ignorant  minority,  and  since  it  was  believed 
to  be  corrupt  as  well  as  incomjietent,  it  inspired  no  respect. 
Peaceful  agitation  had  i)roved  useless.  Did  not  the  sacred 
principle  of  no  taxation  without  representation,  which  had 
been  held  to  justify  the  American  Revolution,  justify  those 
who  had  been  patient  so  long  in  trying  to  remove  their 
grievances  by  force,  of  course  with  as  little  effusion  of 
blood  as  possible? 

On  the  other  hand,  there  was  much  to  be  said  for  the 
Boers,  not  only  from  the  legal,  but  from  the  sentiiiK'ntal 
side  of  the  case.  They  had  fled  out  of  C'ape  Colony  sixty 
years  before,  had  suffered  many  jierils  and  trium])lied 
over  many  foes,  had  recovered  their  indei)endence  by  their 
own  courage  when  Britain  had  dei)rived  them  of  it,  had 


II' 


I'l  I 

11'^ 


lll^ 


I  i 


] 


■'  ■   i 
I 

1' 

f 

I   :  '■ 


H  I  8 


4  4 'J 


IMI'KKSSloNS   OF   SOUTH   AFUirA 


founded  a  cominoiiwcaltli  upon  tlicir  own  lint's,  and  could 
now  kiM't)  it  as  their  own  onlv  Uv  tiie  exclusion  of  those 
aliens  in  blood,  speech,  mid  lUiinners  who  had  recently 
«'onie  anion^  them.  They  liad  not  desired  these  sti'an«:'ei's, 
nor  hud  thi'  stranji'crs  come  for  iinythinir  hut  jjold.  True, 
they  had  opened  the  land  to  them,  they  had  jtcrmilied 
tliem  to  buy  the  }^old-reefs,  they  had  lillecl  their  cotfers 
with  the  taxes  which  the  miners  paid.  liut  the  stranjjers 
came  with  notice  that  it  was  a  lioer  stiito  thcv  were  en- 
terinjjf,  and  most  of  them  had  come,  not  to  stay  and  t(> 
identify  tlwrnselves  with  tlu^  old  citizens,  but  to  depai't 
after  aniassin"'  j^ain.  Were  these  immiiifrantsof  vesterdav 
to  be  suffered  to  overturn  the  old  Boer  state,  and  build  up 
on  its  ruins  a  new  one  under  whi<'h  the  lioer  would  soon 
find  his  cherished  customs  o-om.  aiid  himself  in  turn  a 
stran<;er  ?  Had  not  the  Kn^'lish  many  other  lands  to  rule, 
without  appropriating  this  one  also?  Put  the  g^rievances 
of  v/hieli  the  Uithinders  eom])lained  at  their  liiji-hest,  and 
thev  did  not  amount  to  wron^-s  such  as  had  in  other  eoun- 
tries  furnislied  the  usual  i)retexts  for  insurrection.  Life, 
religion,  property,  personal  freedom,  were  not  at  stake. 
The  -vorst  any  one  suffered  was  to  be  overtaxed  and  to 
want  some  of  those  advantages  which  the  old  citizens  had 
never  possessed  and  did  not  care  to  have.  These  M'ere 
hardships,  yet  not  such  hardships  as  justified  a  recourse 
to  arms. 

The  other  question  which  an  observer  asked  himself 
was  whether  an  insurrection  would  succeed.  Taking  a 
cooler  view  of  the  position  than  it  was  easy  for  a  resident 
to  take,  he  felt  some  doubt  on  this  point,  and  it  occurred 
to  him  to  wonder  whether,  if  the  government  was  really 
so  corrupt  as  the  Uitlanders  described  it,  the  latter  might 
not  attain  their  object  more  cheaply,  as  well  as  peaceably, 


li  ■  i 


M^jJitM 


COulrl 

f  host' 
•clltlv 


THE   TKANSVAAI.    HKI'oHK   TIIK    IJISINCJ    OF    1895     443 

])}'  usinj^  those  nr^'uiiM'iits  wliicli  were  said  to  prevail 
with  many  nu-mlu'rs  of  the  N'olksraad.  Supposiiij,'  this 
to  he  inipossilih',  — iiiid  it  niiiy  well  have  heeii  foimd  im- 
j)ossihie,  for  men  who  are  not  sernpuh»ns  in  h-ssei'  matters 
mav  vet  refuse  to  tamper  with  whiit  thev  liohl  vital, —  were 
the  forces  at  the  disposal  of  the  lieform  leaders  sullieient 
to  overthrow  the  ^^overnment?  It  had  only  two  or  thr»'t^ 
hundred  rej^'ular  troops,  artillerymen  stationed  at  Pretoria, 
and  said  to  he  not  verv  efliiMent.  Hut  the  militia  inehah'd 
all  Boers  over  sixteen  ;  and  the  Boer,  tlion«,di  not  disci- 
plined in  the  European  way,  was  accustomed  to  shoot, 
inured  to  hardshijjs  by  his  rou^di  life,  rea<ly  to  fi^dit  to 
the  death  for  his  indei)endence.     This  milithi,  eonsistinu" 


h 


of  sixteen  thousand  men  or  more,  would  have  i)een, 
when  all  eolle<'ted,  moi'e  than  a  match  in  the  field  for  any 
force  the  Uitlanders  <'OuM  arm.  And  in  })oint  of  fact, 
when  the  risini;  took  phice,  the  latter  had  oidy  some  three 
thousand  rifles  ready,  while  f«'W  of  their  su})porters  knew 
anythin*^  of  fi<;htinjr.  As  the  lieform  leaders  were  aware 
that  they  would  he  outmatched  if  the  ^n)vernment  had  time 
to  (Tfather  its  troops,  it  has  been  subseipiently  hinted  that 
they  meant  to  carry  Pretoria  by  a  ronp  <h'  wdin,  eapturin|jf 
the  President,  and  forthwith,  before  the  Boer  militia  could 
assemble,  to  issue  a  call  for  a  ireneral  i)0})ular  vote  or  j)lebi- 
scite  of  all  the  inhabitants,  Boers  and  L'itlanders,  whicli 
should  determine  the  future  form  of  government.  Others 
have  thought  that  they  would  not  have  taken  the  offensive, 
but  have  intrenched  themselves  in  Johanuesburg,  and  have 
held  out  there,  appealing  meanwhile  to  the  High  Commis- 
sioner, as  representative  of  the  Paramount  Power,  to  come 
up,  interpose  his  mediation,  and  arrange  for  the  peaceable 
taking  of  such  a  general  popular  vote  as  I  have  mentioned. 
To  do  this  it  niiirht  not  have  lieen  neeessarv  to  defend  the 


i| 


I 


1.  . 


it 

•i 


i 

'fi 


iii' 


s 


•>M 


I.MrKKSSloNS   OF   SOl'TII    AFincA 


f        >\ 


town  for  Tnorr  tlmn  n  wotlc  ortrn  days,  Ix'f ore  wliioli  tiiiio 
tlu'  pMK'ral  syiiipatliy  wlii<'li  tliry  rxprctod  from  tla'  n'st 
of  Soulli  Afi'ira  \v<nil(l  liavc  mad**  itsrlf  frit.  And  tluTO 
NNf'H'  in  tilt'  Itacktrroiind  tlic  British  South  Africa  Com- 
|tany's  police  force  at   IMtsani,  who  were  pledp-d  to  eonie 


d. 


It  siiinnioned 

As  everylxHly  knows,  tlio  (lucstion  of  strenj^'tli  was  never 
tested.  Toward  the  (mmI  of  Deceinhcr  the  a^'itation  hecanie 
more  active,  hut  tlie  meetinjr  with  which  tlu'  risiiifj;  was  to 
liave  oj)om'd  was  postponed  from  the  last  week  of  the 
month  to  the  Oth  of  January,  liefore  the  appointed  day, 
and  ])eforo  the  Hoformcrs  had  settled  the  (piestion  of  the 
tla^'  and  were  ready  to  act,  the  Company's  police  started 
for  .TohanneslMir*;.  Their  suddt-n  entrance,  takin<r  the 
Keform  lea«lcrs  by  surprise  and  findint;  them  unprepared, 
forced  the  movement  to  «ro  otf  at  half-cock  and  pave  to  it  an 
aspect  (piite  dilTerent  from  that  which  it  had  hitherto  Ixtrnc. 
The  invasion  roused  all  the  Hoers,  of  whatever  party,  to  de- 
fend their  country,  and  drew  from  the  Hiufh  Commissioner 
an  emphatic  disclaimer  and  condemnati(m  of  the  expedi- 
tion which  the  home  government  repeati'd.  The  movement 
ended  more  quickly  than  it  had  be^un,  as  soon  as  the 
snrrender<^f  the  Company's  police  force  had  become  known, 
for  tlie  reinvsentatives  of  the  Hijfh  Commissioner  besought 
the  Uitlanders  to  lav  down  their  arms  and  save  the  lives  of 
the  leaders  of  that  force.'  This  they  uid,  and,  after  what 
had  happened,  there  was  really  nothinj^  else  to  be  done. 

1  Much  controversy  has  arison  as  to  tho  promise  Vrulch  the  Boer 
commandant  made,  when  the  police  surrendered,  that  the  lives  of 
tlie  leaders  should  he  spared.  Whatever  mipht  have  happened  im- 
mediately after  the  surrender,  they  would  not  have  been  put  to  death 
in  cold  blood  at  Pretoria,  for  that  would  have  been  a  blunder  which 
the  astute  President  would  not  have  committed. 


.31      ) 


tllMO 

rt'st 

lln're 

'om- 


THK   TKANSVAAL   UKFUUK   TIIK    l{lSlN(i    oK    isi>:,     4  i  j 

Tin'  most  <»l)viou.s  jiioml  of  the  failim'  is  tin-  ohl  oiu? 
tliat  ivvolutioiis  art'  not  so  t-asy  to  cavrv  out  as  tlwy  look 
W'licii  oiH'  plans  them  iM't'orrhaiul.  Of  all  tlir  insuriTctions 
un«l  ('onspinuMcs  nconlcd  in  liiston ,  piohaldy  not  live  |»tr 
(M-nt.  liav«'  succ»M'(lt'(l.  Tin'  it-asun  is  that  when  a  nnnilK-r 
of  privati'  persons  n«>t  accustonu'tl  to  joint  action  have  to 
act  secretly  toj^cthci',  unahic  to  coniniunicat*'  frcdy  with 
one  another,  and  still  less  al>le  to  appeal  l>efoiehan«l  to 
those  on  whose  eventual  support  they  rely,  the  chances  of 
(lisa^'i'ei'nient,  (►f  nnsunderstandinj;,  o{  failure  to  take  some 
vital  step  at  exactly  the  ri«rht  moment,  are  innumeral»lt«; 
while  the  government  in  powei*  has  the  advantage  of 
united  counsels,  and  can  issui*  orders  to  ollicers  who  are 
trained  to  prompt  <d)edience.'  In  this  instance  the  )>lan 
was  being  conducted  by  three  groups  of  persons  in  three 
})laces  distant  from  one  another,— .lohannesburg,  Pitsani, 
and  Cape  Town,  — so  that  the  chances  of  miscarriage  were 
immensely  increased.  Had  there  ])een  one  directing  mind 
and  will  planted  at  Johannesburg,  the  proper  center  for 
direeti<m,  the  movement  might  have;  jn-oved  successful. 

Another  reflection  will  have  occurred  to  the  readei",  as 
it  occurred  to  the  visitor  who  saw  the  storm  l)rewing  in  No- 
vember, 1895:  Why  could  not  the  Reformers  have  waited 
Ji  little  longer?  Time  was  on  their  side.  The  Uitlanders 
were  rapidly  gr(>wing  by  th<'  constant  stream  of  immi- 
grants. In  a  few  years  more  they  would  have  so  enormously 
outnumbered  the  native  Boers  that  not  oidv  would  their 
material  .strength  have  been  formidable,  out  their  claim  to 
the  franchise  wouhl  have  become  ri-acticallv  iri'esistible. 
Moreover,  President  Kruger  was  an  old  man,  no  longer  in 

1  When  a  oonspiracy  sueeeedr.,  the  chief  eonspirator  is  usually 
soirie  one  already  wielding  seme  civil  or  military  power,  as  Louis 
Napoleon  did  when  he  overeaine  the  French  Assembly  in  1851. 


7 


i'  i 


;i!ll 


! 


ii 


WH 


4-iG 


LMPKESSIONS   OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


strouj^  health.  Whei)  a^^e  nrnl  inflrmity  (M)mi)elled  his  re- 
tirement, ueither  of  the  i)ersons  deemed  most  likely  to  suc- 
ceed \v(  uld  have  thrown  obstacles  in  the  way  of  reform, 
nor  would  any  successor  have  been  able  to  oppose  a  resis- 
tance as  strong"  as  Mr.  Kruger  s  had  proved.  These  consid- 
erations were  so  ol)vious  that  one  asks  why,  with  the  game 
in  their  hands  at  the  end  of  a  few  years,  the  various  groui)S 
concerned  did  not  wait  (quietly  till  the  ripe  fruit  fell  into 
tlicir  mouths.  Different  causes  have  been  assigned  for 
their  action.  It  is  said  that  they  believed  that  the  Trans- 
vaal government  was  on  the  eve  of  entering  into  secret 
relations,  in  violation  of  the  C'onvention  of  1884,  with  a 
European  Power,  and  that  this  determined  them  to  strike 
1)efore  any  such  new  complication  arose.  Others  hint  that 
some  among  the  Reformers  conceived  that  a  revolution 
must  in  any  case  soon  break  out  in  the  Transvaal,  that  a 
revolution  woidd  turn  the  country  into  an  independent 
English  republic,  that  such  a  rej)ul)lic  would  spread  re- 
pu])lican  feelings  among  the  British  coloni<.'s,  and  lead  be- 
fore long  to  their  se})aration  from  the  mother  country. 
To  prevent  this  they  were  resolved  to  take  contnd  of  the 
movement  and  steer  it  awav  from  those  rocks.  Without 
denying  that  these  or  other  still  more  conjectural  motives 
which  one  hears  assigned  may  have  influenced  some  of 
the  more  long-sighted  leaders,  I  am  disposed  to  seek  the 
main  cause  of  haste  in  the  impatience  of  those  Uitlander 
residents  who  were  dailv  vexed  l)v  grievances  for  which 
they  could  get  no  redress,  and  in  the  annoyance  of  the 
capitalists,  who  saw^  their  mining  interests  languishing 
and  the  work  of  development  retarded.  When  people 
have  long  talked  over  their  wrongs  and  long  planned 
schemes  for  throwing  off  a  detested  yoke,  they  yield  at  last 
to  their  own  impatience,  feeling  half  ashamed  that  so 


THE   TRANSVAAL  BEFORE  THE   RISING   OF   1895    447 


(5 


nuicli  talk  should  not  have  l)een  followed  by  action.  Be- 
sides, tlie  phm  was  far  from  liopeless.  That  it  failed  was 
due  to  incidents  no  one  could  have  foreseen. 

I  have  described  in  this  chapter  only  such  i)art  of  the 
circumstances  wliich  led  up  to  the  rising  as  I  actually  saw, 
and  liave,  for  reasons  already  stated,  confined  myself  to  a 
simple  narrative  of  the  main  facts,  and  a  statement  of  the 
theories  put  foward,  abstaining  from  all  comments  on  the 
conduct  of  individuals.  The  expedition  of  the  British 
South  Africa  Company's  police  to<jk  i>lace  after  I  left  the 
countrv.  Of  it  and  of  what  led  to  it  oral  accounts  have 
been  given  by  some  of  the  principal  actors,  as  well  as  by 
many  independent  pens,  while  the  visible  i)lienomena  of 
the  Johannesburg  movement  have  been  less  described  and 
are  certainly  less  understood.  I  have  dwelt  on  them  the 
more  fullv  not  onlv  because  thev  are  a  curious  episode  in 
history  which  will  not  soon  lose  its  interest,  but  also  be- 
cause the  political  and  industrial  situation  on  tlie  Wit- 
Avatersrand  is  still  substantially  what  it  was  in  189").  Some 
few  reforms  have  been  given,  some  others  pronused.  But 
the  mine-owners  have  not  ceased  to  complain,  and  the 
Uitlanders  are  excluded  from  the  suffrage  as  rigorously 
as  ever.  The  Transvaal  difficulty  remains,  and  still  dis- 
tur1)s  the  trancpiillity  of  South  Africa.  The  problem  is 
not  a  simple  one,  and  little  or  no  progress  has  been  made 
toward  its  solution. 


U 


I 


i> 


(  ( 


I! 


( i 


i. 


iih 


i 


.i 


ii 


■    n 


CHAPTER  XXVI 


61 , 


n  I 


THE   ECONOMIC   FUTURE  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


I  '. 


;  f 


<k 


THOUGH  I  do  not  attempt  to  present  in  this  book  an 
account  of  the  agricultural  and  mineral  resources 
of  South  Africa,  some  words  nnist  be  said  regarding  its 
economic  prospects— that  is  to  say,  regarding  the  natui'al 
sources  of  wealth  which  it  possesses,  their  probable  devel- 
opment, and  the  extent  to  which  that  development  will 
increase  the  still  scanty  population.  The  political  and 
social  future  of  the  country  must  so  largely  depend  on  its 
economic  future  that  any  one  who  desires  to  comprehend 
those  political  problems  to  the  solution  of  which  the  people 
are  moving  must  first  consider  what  sort  of  a  people,  and 
how  large  a  people,  the  material  conditions  which  nature 
furnishes  are  likely  to  produce. 

The  chief  charm  of  travel  through  a  new  country  is  the 
curiosity  which  the  thouglit  of  its  future  inspires.  In 
South  Africa,  a  land  singularly  unlike  any  part  of  Europe 
or  of  North  America,  this  curiosity  is  keenly  felt  by  the 
visitor.  When  he  begins  to  speculate  on  the  future,  his 
first  question  is.  Will  these  wildernesses  ever  become 
peopled,  as  most  of  North  America  and  a  large  part  of 
Australia  have  now  been  peopled,  and  if  so,  what  will  be 
the  character  of  the  po[)ulation  ?    Will  South  Africa  be- 

448 


^> 


THE    ECONOMIC    FIT  CUE   OF    SOUTH   AFIUCA      449 


come  one  of  tlie  j^reat  producing  or  inaimfacturinn:  eoiin- 
tries  of  the  world  ?  Will  it  furnish  a  j^reat  market  for 
European  goods  ?  Will  it  be  populous  enough  and  rich 
enough  to  grow  into  one  of  the  powers  of  the  southern 
hemisphere  ? 

Let  us  begin  by  recalling  the  physical  features  of  the 
country.  Most  of  it  is  high  and  dry ;  all  of  it  is  hot.  The 
parts  which  are  high  and  dry  are  also  healthful,  and  fit  for 
the  ra(jes  of  Europe  to  dwell  in.  But  are  they  equally  fit 
to  support  a  dense  population  ? 

South  Africa  has  three  great  natural  sources  of  wealth  : 
agricultural  land,  pasture-land,  and  minerals,  The  forests 
are  too  scanty  to  be  worth  regarding ;  they  are  not,  and 
probably  never  will  be,  sufficient  to  supply  its  own  ueeds. 
Fisheries  also  are  insignificant,  and  not  likely  ever  to  con- 
stitute an  industry,  so  we  may  confine  ourselves  to  the 
three  first  named. 

Of  these  three  agriculture  is  now,  and  has  hitherto  been, 
by  far  the  least  important.  Out  of  an  area  of  two  hun- 
dred and  twenty-one  thousand  square  miles  in  C'ape  Colony 
alone,  probably  not  more  than  one  one-thousandth  part  is 
now  under  any  kind  of  cultivation,  whether  by  natives  or 
by  w  hites ;  and  in  the  whole  country,  even  if  we  exclude  the 
German  and  Portuguese  territories,  the  proportion  must 
be  very  much  smaller.  There  are  no  figures  available,  so 
one  can  make  only  the  roughest  possible  conjecture.  As 
regards  more  than  half  of  the  country  this  fact  is  explained 
by  the  dryness  of  the  climate.  Not  only  the  Karroo  region 
in  the  interior  of  Cape  Coh)ny,  but  also  the  vast  region 
stretching  north  from  the  Karroo  nearly  as  far  as  the 
west-coast  territories  of  Portugal,  is  too  arid  for  tillage. 
So  are  large  parts  of  the  Free  State,  of  the  Transvaal,  and 
of  Matabililand.     Where  there  is  a  sufficient  rainfall,  as 

29 


1^ 


i 


'4 


-i 


'  ^ 


»     ['    If. 


If     < 

I    '     t 


i  i 


I, 


!| 


■;  I  ■{ 


I    ^l 


450 


mP'iESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


in  many  districts  along  the  south  and  southeast  eoasts, 
much  of  the  country  is  too  hilly  and  rough  for  cultivation  ; 
so  that  it  would  be  well  within  the  mark  to  say  that  of 
the  whole  area  mentioned  above  far  less  than  one  tenth  is 
suitable  for  raising  any  kind  of  crop  without  artificial  aid. 
]\[ucli,  no  doubt,  remains  Avhich  might  be  tilled  and  is  not 
tilled,  especially  in  the  country  between  the  southeastern 
edge  of  tlie  great  plateau  and  the  sea ;  and  that  this  land 
lies  untouched  is  d^e  partly  to  the  presence  of  the  Kafir 
tribes,  who  occupy  more  land  than  they  cultivate,  partly 
to  the  Wi.nt  or  the  dearness  of  labor,  jiartly  to  the  ten- 
dency, confirmed  b}'  long  habit,  of  the  whites  to  prefer 
stock-farming  to  tillage.  The  chief  agricultural  i)roduets 
are  at  present  cereals,  i.  e.,  wheat,  oats,  maize,  and  Kafir 
corn  (a  kind  of  millet),  fruit,  and  sugar.  The  wheat  and 
maize  raised  are  not  sufficient  for  the  consumption  of  the 
inhabitants,  so  that  these  articles  are  largely  imported,  in 
spite  of  the  duties  levied  on  them.  There  is  a  considerar 
ble  and  increasing  export  of  fruit,  which  goes  to  Europe 
— chiefly  to  the  English  market— in  January,  February, 
and  March,  the  midsummer  and  autumn  of  the  southern 
hemisphere.  Sugar  is  grown  on  the  hot  lajids  of  Natal 
lying  along  the  sea,  and  might,  no  doubt,  be  grown  all 
the  way  north  along  the  sea  from  there  to  the  Zambesi. 
Rice  would  grow  on  the  wet  coast  lands,  but  is  scarcely 
at  all  raised.  Tea  has  lately  been  planted  on  the  hills  in 
Natal,  and  would  probably  thrive  also  on  the  high  lands  of 
Mashonaland.  There  is  plenty  of  land  fit  for  cotton.  The 
tobacco  of  the  Transvaal  is  so  pleasant  for  smoking  in  a 
pipe  that  one  cannot  but  expect  it  to  be  in  time  much 
more  largely  axid  carefully  grown  than  it  is  now.  Those 
who  have  grown  accustomed  to  it  prefer  it  to  any  other. 
With  the  exception  of  the  olive,  which  apparently  does 


l^^ 


(I 


-1 


fl 


THE   ECONOMIC   FUTURE   OF   SOUTH   AFKICA      4r.l 

not  succeed,  and  of  tlio  vino,  wliicli  succeeds  only  in  the 
small  district  round  Cape  Town  that  enjoys  a  true  summer 
and  winter,  nearly  all  the  staples  of  the  Avanner  parts  of 
the  temperate  zone  and  of  subtropical  regions  can  be 
grown. 

The  introduction  of  irrigation  would  enormously  enlarge 
the  area  of  tillage,  for  some  of  the  regions  now  hopelessly 
arid,  such  as  the  Karrocj,  have  a  soil  of  suri)rising  fertility, 
■which  produces  luxuriant  crops  when  water  is  led  on  to  it. 
Millions  of  acres  might  be  made  to  wave  Avith  corn  were 
great  tanks,  like  those  of  India,  constructed  to  hohl  the 
rains  of  the  Avet  s.  vson,  or  Avere  artesian  Avells  dug  like 
those  AA'hich  haA'e  lately  been  successfully  bored  in  Algeria 
Jind  have  proA'cd  so  infinitely  A'aluable  to  parts  of  Australia. 
Alreadv  about  three  hundred  thousand  acres  are  cultivated 
Avith  the  aid  of  irrigation  in  Cape  Colony.  At  present, 
hoAA'CA'cr,  it  has  been  deemed  hardly  AA'orth  Avhile  to  execute 
large  irrigation  Avorks  or  to  bore  Avells.'  The  j)]'ice  of  cere- 
als has  sunk  so  Ioav  over  all  the  Avorld  that  South  Africans 
find  it  cheaper  to  import  them  than  to  si)end  cai)ital  on 
reclaiming  AA-aste  lands ;  and  there  is  jtlenty  of  land  al- 
ready Avhich  might  be  cultiA'ated  Avithout  irrigation  if  there 
Avere  settlers  coming  to  cultivate  it,  or  if  Kafir  jal)or  Avas 
sufficiently  effective  to  make  it  Avorth  the  Avhile  of  en- 
terprising men  to  undertake  farming  on  a  large  scale. 
The  same  remarks  apply  generally  to  the  other  kinds  of 
produce  I  ha\'e  mentioned.  As  population  groAvs,  and  the 
local  demand  for  food  increases,  more  land  Avill  be  brought 
under  the  ploAV  or  the  hoe.  Some  day,  perhaps,  Avhen  the 
great  corn-exporting  countries  of  to-day— North  America, 
La  Plata,  central  India,  southern  Russia— have  become  so 

1  It  is,  "however,  still  doubtful  whether  very  large  areas  can  be 
irrigated  by  artesian  Avells. 


II, 


i 


11 


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! 


!    V 


452 


IMPKEHSIONS   OF   SOUTH   AFKR'A 


crovvded  as  to  liave  inueli  loss  of  tlioir  «,n'{iiu-erops  to  spare 
for  other  countries,  it  will  become  i)rofltal>le  to  irrij^ate 
the  Karroo,  on  which  the  Kafir  of  the  future  will  probably 
prove  a  more  efficient  lal)orer  than  he  is  now.  But  that 
day  is  distant,  and  till  it  arrives,  ay:riculture  will  ontinue 
to  i)lay  a  very  subordinate  i>art  in  S(Mith  African  indus- 
try, and  will  employ  a  conipjiratively  small  white  popu- 
lation. 

Ever  sincH^  the  last  years  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
when  the  settlers  were  beginning  to  spread  out  from  the 
Cape  Peninsula  toward  the  then  still  unknown  interior, 
the  main  occupation  of  the  colonists,  first  of  the  Dutch  and 
since  then  of  both  Dutch  and  English,  has  been  the  keep- 
infjf  of  cattle  and  sheep.  So  it  remains  to-day.  Nearly  all 
the  land  that  is  not  rouj^h  mountain  or  waterless  desert, 
and  much  that  to  the  inexpj^rienced  eye  seems  a  waterless 
desert,  is  in  the  hands  of  stock-farmei  .,  whose  ranges  are 
often  of  enormous  size,  from  six  thousand  acres  upward. 
In  1893  there  were  in  Cape  Colony  about  2,000,000  cattle, 
in  Natal  725,000,  in  the  Orange  ?ree  State  900,000,  and 
in  Bechuanaland  the  Bamangwato  (Khama's  tribe)  alone 
had  800,000.  Of  these  last  only  some  aOOO  are  said  to 
have  survived  the  murrain,  which  has  (July,  1897)  begun 
to  work  havoc  in  the  other  three  first-mentioned  territories 
also.  In  1896  there  were  in  Cape  Colony  alone  14,400,000 
sheep  and  5,000,000  Angora  and  other  goats.  The  number 
of  sheep  might  be  largely  increased  were  more  effective 
measures  against  the  diseases  that  affect  them  carried  out. 
All  the  country,  even  the  Kalahari  Desert,  which  used 
to  be  thought  hopelessly  sterile,  is  now  deemed  fit  to  put 
some  sort  of  live  stock  upon,  though,  of  course,  the  more 
arid  the  soil,  the  greater  the  area,  required  to  feed  one 
sheep.     To  the  traveler  who  crosses  its  weary  stretches 


1 

A        \ 
'I      .i 


THE   ErONOMIC   FUTUKE   OF   SOUTH   AFRICA      45r{ 

in  the  trniii  the  Karroo  seems  a  barren  waste;  Imt  it  i)ro- 
(luces  small  succulent  shi  iibs  miicli  rclislied  bv  slieep,  and 
every  here  and  there  a  well  or  a  staj^nant  i)ool  may  )><' 
found  whii'h  supplies  water  enough  to  keep  tlie  ereatures 
alive.  Here  six  acres  is  the  avera«re  allowed  for  one  sliecp. 
Traets  of  rough  ground,  covered  with  patches  of  thick, 
scrubby  bushes,  are  turned  to  account  as  ostrich-farms, 
whence  large  quantities  of  feathers  are  ex])orted  to  Europe 
and  America.  In  18!)0  the  number  of  ostriches  in  Cape 
Colony  was  returned  as  22r),()0().  The  merino  sheep,  in- 
troduced seventy  years  ago,  thrives  in  Oai)e  Colony,  and 
its  wool  has  become  one  of  the  most  valuable  jiroducts  of 
the  counti'y.  In  the  Free  State  both  it  and  the  Angora 
goat  do  well,  and  tiie  pasture-lands  of  that  territory  sup- 
port also  great  numbers  of  cattle  and  horses.  The  Free 
State  and  Bechiumaland  are  deemed  to  be  among  the  very 
best  rancdiing-grounds  in  all  South  Africa. 

Although,  as  I  have  said,  nearly  all  the  country  is  more 
or  less  fit  for  live  stock,  it  must  be  remembered  that  this 
does  not  imjdy  either  gi'eat  pecuniary  returns  or  a  large 
population.  In  most  districts,  a  comparatively  wide  area 
of  ground  is  required  to  feed  what  would  be  deenuMl  in 
western  America  a  moderate  herd  or  flock,  because  the 
pasture  is  thin,  droughts  are  frequent,  a;id  locusts  some- 
times destroy  a  large  part  of  the  pasture.  Thus  the  num- 
ber of  persons  for  whom  the  care  of  cattle  or  sheep  in  any 
given  area  provides  occupation  is  a  mere  ti'ifle  compared  to 
the  number  which  would  be  needed  to  till  the  same  area. 
Artesian  wells  might,  no  doubt,  make  certain  regions  better 
for  ranching:  but  here,  as  in  the  case  of  agriculture,  we 
find  little  prospect  of  any  dense  pojudation,  and,  indeed,  a 
probability  that  the  white  people  will  continue  to  be  few 
relatively  to  the  area  of  the  country.     On  a  large  ranch- 

29' 


11 


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i    . 


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454 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


'  ' 


i^  i 


iiipf-farm  the  proportion  of  white  men  to  black  servants  is 
usually  about  three  to  twenty-five ;  and  though,  of  course, 
the  ])roportion  of  whites  is  much  larger  in  the  small  towns 
which  supply  the  wants  of  the  surrounding  country,  still 
any  one  van  see  with  how  few  whites  a  ranching  country 
may  get  along. 

The  tliird  source  of  wealth  lies  in  the  minerals.  It  was 
the  latest  source  to  become  known— indeed,  till  thirty  years 
ago  nobody  suspected  it.  Iron  had  been  found  in  some 
places,  copper  in  others;  but  neither  had  been  largely 
worked,  and  the  belief  in  the  existence  of  the  precious 
metals  rested  on  nothing  more  than  a  Portuguese  tradi- 
tion. In  18G7  the  first  diamond  found  in  South  Africa  was 
picked  up  by  a  hunter  out  of  a  heap  of  shining  pebbles 
near  the  banks  of  the  Orange  River,  above  its  confluence 
with  the  Vaal.  In  18G9-70  the  stones  began  to  be  largely 
found  near  where  the  town  of  Kimberley  now  stands.  This 
point  has  been  thenceforth  the  center  of  the  industry, 
though  there  are  a  few  other  mines  elsewhere  of  smaller 
productive  power.  The  value  of  the  present  annual  out- 
put exceeds  £4,000,000  ($20,000,000),  but  it  is  not  likely 
to  increase,  being,  in  fact,  now  kept  down  in  order  not  to 
depress  the  market  by  oversupply.  The  discovery  of  dia- 
monds, as  was  observed  in  an  earlier  chapter,  opened  a  new 
period  in  South  African  history,  drawing  crowds  of  immi- 
grants, developing  trade  through  the  seaports  as  well  as  in- 
dustry at  the  mining  centers,  and  jiroducing  a  group  of 
enterprising  men  who,  when  the  various  diamond-mining 
companies  had  been  amalgamated,  sought  and  found  new 
ways  of  employing,  their  capital.  Fifteen  years  after  the 
great  diamond  finds  came  the  still  greater  gold  finds  at 
the  Witwatersrand.  The  working  cf  these  mines  has  now 
become  the  greatest  industry  in  the  country,  and  Johan- 


.  !, 


THE   ECONOMIC    KCTUHE   OF   SOUTH   AFKICA      45:. 

nesburg  is  the  center  toward  wliieli  the  import  trade  eon- 
A'erges. 

I  need  not  repent  the  description  given  in  a  previons 
cliapter  (Cha^tter  XVIII)  of  the  l^md  mining  district. 
The  reader  wi'l  reincndx'r  tliat  it  differs  from  all  the 
other  gold-fields  of  8onth  Africa  in  one  essential  feature 
—that  of  the  «*omparative  certainty  of  its  yield.  Accord- 
ingly, in  considering  the  future  of  South  African  gold,  I 
will  speak  first  of  those  other  gold-fields  and  then  sepa- 
rately of  the  Hand  district. 

(lold  has  been  found  in  many  places  south  of  the  Zam- 
besi. It  occurs  here  and  there  in  snnill  quartities  in  ('"pe 
Colony,  in  scmiewhat  Lirger  quantities  in  Natal,  Zulu- 
land,  and  Swaziland,  in  the  eastern  and  northeastern  dis- 
tricts of  the  Transvaal,  at  Tati  in  northern  Bechuanaland, 
and  in  many  spots  through  Matabililand  and  Mashonaland. 
In  all  (or  nearly  all)  these  places  it  occurs  in  <juartz-reefs 
resembling  those  of  North  America  and  Australia.  Some 
reefs,  especially  those  of  the  northern  region  between  the 
Limpopo  and  Zambesi,  are  ])romising,  and  great  (puinti- 
ties  of  gold  have  in  times  long  past  been  taken  out  <  f 
this  region.  As  already  explained  (Chapter  XVII),  it 
seems  proliable,  thongh  not  certain,  that  in  numy  districts 
a  mining  industry  wiP  be  developed  which  will  give  em- 
ployment to  thousands,  perhaps  many  thousands,  <  )f  natives, 
and  to  hundreds,  perhaps  numy  hundreds,  of  white  engi- 
neers and  foremen.  Should  this  liappen,  markets  will  be 
created  in  these  districts,  land  will  be  cultivated,  railways 
will  be  made,  and  the  local  J:rades  which  a  thriving  i)oi)u- 
lation  requires  will  spring  up.  But  the  life  of  these  gold- 
reefs  will  not  be  a  long  one.  As  the  gold  is  found  in 
quartz-rock,  and  oidy  to  a  small  extent  in  gravel  or  other 
alluvial  deposits,  the  mining  requires  capital,  and  will  be 


11 


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45U 


IMI'KESSIONS   {)V   .SOl'TH   AFHK'A 


oirricd  on  by  conipjinics.  Tt  v;ill  be  camod  on  (juickly, 
and  so  (luic.kly,  with  tho  iiid  of  th«'  cnorniously  improved 
scientific!  appliant'cs  we  n<>\v  possess,  lis  to  exhaust  at  no 
distant  period  tlie  niinend  wliieh  the  rocks  contain.  1 
liave  seen  in  Transylvania  a  ^'ohl-niine  wliicli  was  worked 
in  the  days  of  tlie  Romans,  and  is  bein<?  worked  still.  Hut 
mining;  now  is  as  different  from  the  mininfj^of  the  anci<'nts 
or  of  tlu^  middle  ages  as  a  loecnnotive  enj^ine  is  from  an 
ox-wagon,  such  are  th(!  resources  which  chemical  and  me- 
ehanieal  sciencic  plac'O  at  (mr  disjxjsal.  Accordingly,  the 
payabh'  ])arts  of  the  quai'tz-i'eefs  will  have  been  drained  of 
their  gold  in  a  few  years,  or,  at  any  rate,  in  a  few  decades, 
just  as  many  of  tho,  silver  lodes  of  Nevada  have  already 
been  worked  out  and  abandoned.  There  will  then  be  no 
further  cause  for  the  existence  of  the  mine-workers  at  those 
points,  and  tlie  popuhition  will  decline  just  as  that  of 
Nevada  lias  declined.  These  South  African  districts  will, 
however,  be  in  one  point  far  better  off  than  Nevada :  they 
possess  land  fit  everywhere  for  ranching,  and  in  many 
places  for  tillage  also.  Ranching  will,  therefore,  support 
a  certain,  though  not  large,  permanent  population ;  while 
tillage,  though  the  profitalde  market  close  by  will  havi; 
been  largely  reduced  by  the  departure  of  the  miners,  will 
probably  continue,  because  the  land  will  have  been  fur- 
nished with  farm-houses  and  fences,  perhaps  in  places  with 
irrigation  works,  and  because  the  railways  that  will  have 
been  constructed  will  enable  agricultural  products  to  reach 
more  distant  markets,  which  by  that  time  may  possibly  be 
less  glutted  with  the  cereals  of:  North  and  South  America. 
Accordingly,  assuming  that  a  fair  proportion  of  the  quartz- 
reef  gold-fields  turn  out  well,  it  may  be  predicted  that 
population  will  increase  in  and  round  them  during  the 
next  ten  years,  and  that  for  some  twenty  years  more  this 


THE  KCUNUMIC    FUTUHE  OF   bOUTH   AFKICA      ■\:^7 


ickly, 
roved 
Jit  no 
in.  I 
)rk(»(l 
But 


population  will  maintain  itself,  tlioujjh  of  course  not 
necessarily  in  tlH»  same  s|)ots,  because,  as  the  reefs  tirst 
(leveloj)e(l  become  exhausted,  the  miiu-rs  will  shift  to  new 
places.  Aft-^'r  tlu-se  thirty  or  po.ssildv  fortv  years,  that  is 
to  sav,  before  the  middle  of  next  century,  the  country, 
haying  parted  with  its  jrold,  will  have  to  fall  back  on  its 
imsture  and  its  arable  land;  but  havinp  l)ecome  settled 
and  deveh)ped,  it  nuiv  count  on  retnininf;  a  rejisonabje 
measure  of  j)rospei'ity. 

This  forecast  may  .seem  to  be  ol  a  hiirhly  conie<'tural 
nature.  (Vmjecvural  it  must  be.  if  only  for  this  reason  : 
th'«t  the  value  of  nearly  all  of  the  «iuart/,-reefs  refeired  to  is 
still  quite  uncertiiin.  Bui  <tne  «'annot  visit  a  new  country 
without  attemptinj^  to  nmke  a  forecast  of  some  kind  ;  and 
the  ex})erience  of  other  countries  jjfoes  to  show  that,  while 
deposits  of  the  precious  metals  are,  under  our  present 
conditions,  no  more  an  abiding?  source  of  wealth  than  is  a 
g^uano  island,  they  may  immensely  ac('elerate  the  dcvelo])- 
ment  of  a  country,  j^iving-  it  a  start  in  the  woi-ld,  nnd 
providing  it  with  advantajjes,  .such  as  railway  communica- 
tion, which  could  not  otherwi.se  be  looked  for.  This  they 
are  now  dcmij?  for  Matabililand  and  Mashonaland,  coun- 
tries in  which  it  would  not  at  present  be  worth  while  to 
construct  railroads  but  for  the  liopes  attaching  to  the 
mines.  This  thev  mav  do  for  Zululand  and  Swaziland, 
should  the  reefs  in  those  districts  prove  i)rolitable. 

So  much  for  the  (piartz-reefs.  As  has  })een  observed, 
the  gold-mines  of  the  Witwatersrand  d.fTer  in  the  mu<'h 
greater  certainty  of  their  yield  and  in  the  much  gi-eater 
quantity  of  auriferous  rock  which  they  liave  been  ascer- 
tained to  contain.  It  is  pro))able  that  gold  of  the  value 
of  £700.000.000  (more  thar  $8,500,000,000)  remains  to  be 
extracted  from  them.     Already  a  population  of  at  least 


HI 


' 


"l  {1 


•l.'S 


IMI'UKSSIUNS  OF  SOUTH   AFUICA 


150,000  vvliito  inon  has  colU'ctcd  in  \vl»jit  only  twelve  years 
a^'o  was  a  Itam-n  wililcrncss ;  already  nearly  £10,000,000 
worth  of  p)hl  per  annnm  is  heiii},'  extracted.  It  is  practi- 
cally eertain  thrt  this  production  and  poi)ulation  willfjjoon 
inereasin<;  durinjj:  the  lu-xt  few  years,  and  that  the  mines 
will  not  1m'  worked  out  before  the  middle  of  next  century 
at  earliest.  For  the  next  fifty  or  sixty  years,  therefore, 
the  Ikiind  district  will  be  the  economii^  and  industrial  een'er 
of  South  Africa  and  the  seat  of  the  lar<j:est  Euroj)ean  (!om- 
inunity.  What  will  it  be  after  those  sixty  or  perhaps 
seventy  years,  when  the  banket  beds  have  been  drained  of 
their  {.(old  to  a  depth  of  .lOOO  feet,  the  greatest  at  which 
mining  seems  to  be  i)ra(!tica))le  ?  It  is  possible  that  the 
other  industries  which  are  rising  as  ancillary  to  min- 
ing may  for  a  whilt!  and  to  a  reduced  extent  hold  their 
ground.  Prol)ably,  however,  they  will  wither  n^)  and  van- 
ish. The  land  will  remain,  but  the  land  of  this  highest 
part  of  the  Transvaal,  tliongh  fit  for  pasture,  does  not  lend 
itself  to  tillage.  The  probabilities,  therefore,  are  that  the 
fate  of  Xev'.da  will  in  time  <lescend  upon  the  Rand — that 
the  houses  that  are  now  si)ringing  up  will  be  suffei-ed  to 
fall  to  ruin,  that  the  mouths  of  the  shafts  will  in  time 
be  covered  by  thorny  shrublets,  and  that  soon  after  A.  D. 
2000  has  been  reached  this  busy  hive  of  industry  and 
noisy  market-place  of  speculation  will  have  again  become 
the  stony  solitude  which  it  was  in  1880.  For  all  practi- 
cal purposes,  however,  an  event  a  hundred  years  away 
is  too  distant  to  be  worth  regarding.  The  world  wiU 
in  A.  D.  2000  be  so  different  from  what  it  is  now  that  the 
exhaustion  of  the  Rand  gold-field  may  have  a  different 
bearing  from  any  which  we  can  now  foresee.  Johannes- 
burgers  themselves  are  not  disquieted  by  thoughts  of  a 
future  that  is  even  half  a  centurv  distant.     The  older 


TIIK   ECONOMIC    ITTl'UK   OF   SOUTH   AFUICA      45J) 

sort  will  not  livp  to  sc**  it,  und  tin'  yoMn«;«'r  sort  exjUM't  tfi 
luive  made  tlicir  t'ortiiii«>s  loiij^'  hefon'  it  iirrivcs.  Still,  it 
must  be  rt'iiicMilHTcd  that,  so  far  as  minerals  p),  South 
Africa  is  now  living',  not  on  her  income,  hut  on  her  cap- 
ital, and  that  in  twentv-live  vears  half  the  capital  mav  h«' 
gone. 

There  are  other  metals  in  the  country  besides  the  pre- 
<'ious  ones.  The  presence  of  extensive  coal-beds  in  the 
Transvaal  and  Natal  has  been  a  eircunistanc^e  of  the  first 
imi)ortance  for  the  profitable  working  of  the  Hand  «i<>ld- 
beds,  and  nuiy  encoura^a^  the  p^rowth  of  some  kin<ls  of 
manufacture.  Iron  is  abundant  lK)th  in  the  Transvaal 
and  in  Mashonaland,  and  has  })een  found  in  nuxny  other 
districts,  often  in  the  neijjfhborhood  of  coal.  It  is  not 
worked  now,  Ix'cause  all  ii'on  floods  can  be  obtained  more 
cheaply  from  Euroj)e ;  Init  it  nuiy  oiui  day  jjrow  into  an 
imbistry,  as  coi)per-minin«;  aln'ady  has  in  Little  NanuKpia- 
land  on  the  west  coast. 

The  mention  of  ( oal  and  iron  brings  us  to  another 
branch  of  tlie  subject— tlie  possibility  of  esta)»lishing  man- 
ufactures which  mav  beconu^  a  source  of  wealth  and 
the  support  of  an  industrial  ])opulation.  At  present  the 
manufactures  are  insi<rnificant.  All  the  textile  goods, 
for  instance,  nearly  all  the  metal  goods,  and  })y  far  the 
larger  part  even  of  the  beer  and  spirits  (intended  for  the 
whites)  and  mineral  waters  consumed  in  the  country  come 
from  Europe.  The  Boers  in  the  two  republics  and  the 
Boer  element  at  the  Cape  have  neither  taste  nor  talent 
for  this  kind  of  industry,  and  such  capital  as  exists  is 
naturally  attracted  to  mining  enterprises.  Nevertheless, 
it  may  be  thought  that  as  capital  accumulates  things 
will  change,  and  that  the  English  part  of  the  population 
in  the  two  British  colonies  '.vill  take  to  manufactures,  as 


II' 


I 


I'M' 


'1  ' 


111 


i' 


I't  >>  ^    I 

J  r  I't 


I>  '    ! 


\' 


I  f  fl>  i 


■;    ' 


'  w '  '^  1 


4G0 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


it  has  done  in  Anstralia.     Lot  ns  see  whether  this  is 
probal)h\ 

To  enal)le  South  African  nian\ifactures  to  compete  on  a 
larg(i  scale  witli  the  established  manufacturing  countries, 
such  as  those  in  northwestern  Europe  or  northeastern 
Ame^iv^a,  three  things  are  needed— a  large  market,  cheap 
sources  of  mecl'inical  power,  clieap  and  efficient  labor.  Of 
these  the  first  is  at  present  wanting,  and  even  should  the 
growth  of  the  Kand  mining  district  raise  the  white  popula- 
tion of  the  two  colonies  and  two  republics  from  730,000 
(which  is  loughly  its  jtresent  figure)  to  1,200,000,  that  num- 
ber of  consuniei's  will  be  still  too  small  to  encourage  the 
expenditure  of  any  large  capital  in  endeavoring  to  pi'oduce 
articles  which  the  immense  manufacturing  establishments 
of  Europe,  working  for  populous  markets,  can  turn  out 
more  cheaply.  As  to  mechanical  forces,  there  are  no  riverr 
to  give  water-power ;  and  though  Natal,  Zululand,  and  the 
Transvaal  provide  coal,  the  quality  of  the  mineral  is  in- 
ferior to  that  obtainal>le  in  South  Wales  or  Belgium 
or  Pennsylvania.  But  the  most  important  conditions 
for  success  are  those  connected  M'ith  labor.  In  South 
Africa  skilled  labor  is  dear  because  scarce,  and  unskilled 
labor  is  dear  because  bad.  As  was  explained  in  a  pre- 
ceding chapter,  all  rough,  hard  work  is  done  by  natives; 
not  that  white  men  could  not,  in  the  more  temperate 
regions,  perfectly  well  do  it,  but  because  white  men 
think  it  beneath  them  and  onlv  fit  for  blacks.  Now 
black  labor  is  seldom  good  hibor  The  mixed  race  called 
"Cape  boys"  are  good  drivers,  and  quite  fit  for  many 
kinds  of  railway  work.  They  are  employed  in  the  build- 
ing trades  and  in  sawmills,  and  to  some  extent  in  such 
trades  as  bootmaking.  The  Kafirs  of  the  eastern  pro- 
vince and  of  Natal  are  more  raw  than  the  "Cape  boys.'^ 


THE  ECONOMIC   FUTURE  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA      401 


his 


IS 


They  iriake  good  plate-layers  on  railways,  and  having 
plenty  of  physical  strength,  will  do  any  sort  of  rough  work 
they  are  set  ti 


e  set  to.  But  they  have  no  aptitude  for  trades 
requiring  skill,  and  it  will  take  a  generation  or  tw«.)  to  lit 
them  for  the  liner  kinds  of  carpentry  or  metal-work,  or 
for  the  handling  of  machinery.  Besides,  they  are  often 
changeable  and  unstable,  apt  to  forsake  their  employment 
for  some  trilling  cause.  Their  w^ages  are  certainly  not 
high,  ranging  from  ten  to  twenty  shillings  a  month,  l)esides 
food,  for  any  kind  of  rough  outdoor  work.  Miners  are  paid 
higher,  and  a  Malay  mason  will  get  from  thirty  to  forty 
shillings  a  week ;  but  a  white  laborer  at  twice  the  price 
would,  for  most  kinds  of  work,  be  cheaper.  Nor  is  it  easy 
to  get  the  amount  of  native  labor  that  may  be  needed,  for 
the  Kafir  prefers  to  till  his  own  patch  of  ground  or  turn 
out  his  cattle  on  the  veldt.  The  scnle  for  while  workmen  is, 
of  course,  far  higher,  ranging  from  £2  lO.s.  to  £H  ($12.r)0 
to  $40)  a  week,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  work  and 
the  competence  of  the  artisan.  Such  wages  are  double 
those  paid  in  England,  treble  those  paid  in  some  manu- 
facturing districts  of  Germany  or  Belgium,  higher  even 
than  tliose  paid  in  the  United  States.  It  is  therefore  evi- 
dent that,  what  with  the  badness  of  the  (cheaper  labor  aud 
the  dearness  of  the  better,  a  manufacturer  woidd,  in  St)uth 
Africa,  be  severely  handicaj)ped  in  competing  with  either 
Europe  or  the  United  States.  Prote(*tionists  may  think 
that  a  high  tariff  on  foreign  manufactured  goods  would 
foster  industrial  undertakings  in  these  colonies.  Such  a 
tariff  would,  however,  need  to  be  fixed  very  high  to  gi\e 
the  local  factory  a  chance— so  high,  indeed,  that  it  woukl 
excite  serious  opposition  from  the  consumer.  And,  in 
point  of  fact,  there  has  been  hitherto  no  cry  for  a  tariff 
to  protect  home  manufactures,  because  so  few  people  are 


!/ 


it  1 


I'l 


i  ! 


i, 


n 

» 

1 

f 

i 

\ 

1  . 

?  if- 

1 ' 

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i 

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i 

1 

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If 

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9 

> 

1 

1     1 
j 

1 

: ! 


462 


DIPIiESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


at  present  interested  in  having  it.  Such  protection  as 
exists  is  directed  to  food-stuffs,  in  order  to  please  the  agri- 
cultural classes,  and  the  tariff'  on  other  goods  is  almost 
solely  for  revenue. 

The  conditions  I  have  described  may,  and  probably  will, 
change  as  the  industrial  training  of  the  natives  improves 
and  their  aversion  to  labor  declines  under  the  pressure  of 
increasing  numbers  and  a  reduction  of  the  quantity  of 
land  available  for  them.  But  a  review  of  the  present  state 
of  things  i)oints  to  the  conclusion  that  no  great  develoj)- 
ment  of  manufactures,  and  of  a  white  population  occupied 
in  manufactures,  is  to  be  expected,  at  least  for  some  time 
to  come. 

Three  other  observations  must  at  this  stage  be  made. 
Till  very  recently,  South  Africans  had  what  the  psalmist 
desired— neither  poverty  nor  riches.  There  were  hardly 
any  white  paupers,  because  the  substratum  of  population 
was  black;  and  as  few  black  paupers,  because  a  Kalir 
has  had  no  wants  except  food,  and  is  content  with  the 
simplest  kind  of  food.  On  the  other  hand,  there  were  no 
rich  whites.  The  farmers,  both  agriculturists  and  ranch- 
men, lived  in  a  sort  of  rude  plenty,  with  no  luxuries  and 
very  little  money.  Everybody  was  tolerably  well  off",  no- 
body was  wealthy.  There  were  large  stock-farms,  as  in 
Australia,  but  the  owners  of  these  farms  did  not  make  the 
immense  gains^which  many  Australian  squatters  and  some 
American  cattle-men  have  made.  Accordingly,  when  cap- 
ital was  needed  for  the  development  of  the  mines  it  w^as 
obtained  from  home.  A  few  successful  residents  did,  no 
doubt,  make  out  of  the  diamond-fields  large  sums,  which 
they  presently  applied  to  the  development  of  the  gold- 
flelds.  But  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  money  spent  in 
opening  up  mines,  both  on  the  Witwatersrand  and  else- 


it  v  * 


V  I     ! 


1011  as 
e  agri- 


THE  ECONOMIC  FUTURE  OF  SOUTH  AFRl    \     463 

where,  lias  come  from  Europe,  chiefly  from  Enjjrhmd,  but 
to  a  considerable  extent  also  from  France,  Germany,  and 
Holland.  Accordinjrlv,  nineteen  twentieths  at  least  of  the 
profits  made  by  the  mines  are  paid  to  shareholders  in  those 
countries,  and  not  expended  in  South  Africa.  Even  among 
those  who  have  made  fortunes  out  of  diamonds  or  jjfold  by 
their  personal  enterprise  on  the  spot,  the  majority  return 
to  Europe  and  spend  their  incomes  there.  The  country, 
therefore,  does  not  get  the  full  benefit,  in  the  way  either  of 
l)ayments  for  labor  (except,  of  course,  labor  at  the  mines) 
or  of  increased  consumption  of  articles,  from  its  mineral 
products,  but  is  rather  in  the  position  of  Mexico  or  Peru 
in  the  seventeenth  century,  when  the  bulk  of  tlie  precious 
metals  won  from  the  mines  went  to  Spain  as  a  sort  of 
tribute.  There  are  at  this  moment  probably  not  more 
than  a  dozen  rich  men,  as  Europe  counts  riches,  resident 
in  the  country,  and  all  of  these  are  to  be  found  either  at 
Johannesburg  or  at  Cai)e  Town.  Most  of  them  M-ill  after 
a  time  betake  themselves  to  Europe.  Nor  is  thei-e  any 
sign  that  the  number  of  local  fortunes  will  increase  ;  for 
the  motives  which  draw  men  away  from  Johannesburg  to 
Europe  are  likely  to  continue  as  strong  in  the  future  as 
they  are  at  present. 

Secondly,  as  the  whites  are  not— except  at  Johannesburg, 
where  the  lavishness  of  a  mining  population  is  conspicu- 
ous—large consumers  of  luxuries,  so  the  blacks  are  j)Oor 
consumers  of  all  save  the  barest  necessaries  of  life.  It  is 
not  merely  that  they  have  no  money.  It  is  that  they 
have  no  wants,  save  of  food  and  of  a  few  common  articles 
of  clothing.  The  taste  for  the  articles  which  civilized  nuii' 
requires  is  growing,  as  the  traders  in  Bechuanaland  have 
already  begun  to  find,  but  it  grows  .slowly,  and  is  still  in 
a  rudimentary  stage.     The  demand  which.  South  Africa  is 


II' 


; 


i 


() 


[ 


464 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


'<■  h  ■ 


likely  to  offer  either  for  home-made  or  for  imported  goods 
must,  therefore,  be  measured,  not  by  the  gross  population, 
but  by  the  white  population,  and,  indeed,  by  the  town- 
dwelling  whites;  for  the  Dutch  farmer  or  ranchnum, 
whether  in  tiie  British  colonies  or  in  the  Dutch  republics, 
has  very  little  cash  in  his  pocket,  and  lives  in  a  simple 
and  primitive  way.  It  is  only  the  development  of  the 
mines  that  makes  South  Africa  a  growing  market  for 
European  goods. 

Thirdly,  there  is  very  little  P^uropean  immigration,  ex- 
cept of  persons  seeking  work  at  the  gold-mines  of  the  Rand. 
Agriculturists  do  not  go  out,  because  farms  have  seldom 
been  offered  by  any  of  the  governments  on  the  same  easy 
terms  as  those  which  prevail  in  Canada  or  New  Zealand, 
and  because  the  climate  and  the  existence  of  a  black  pop- 
ulation deter  tlie  agricultural  classes  of  northern  Europe. 
There  is  plenty  of  land  on  the  south  coast  of  Oape  Colony, 
as  w(-'ll  as  in  Natal  and  in  the  healthy  uplands  of  Mashon- 
aland,  which  Englishmen  or  Germans  might  cultivate  wath 
the  assistance  (in  the  hotter  parts)  of  a  little  native  labor, 
and  which  Italians  or  Portuguese  might  cultivate  by  their 
own  labor,  without  native  help.  The  (lermans  who  were 
brought  out  in  1856  throve  in  l)ody  and  estate  on  the 
farms  whi<'h  they  tilled  with  their  own  hands  near  Gra- 
hamstown.  Nevertheless,  few  agricultural  immigrants 
enter.  Neither  do  men  go  from  Europe  to  start  ranch- 
ing, for  the  pastoral  lands  are  taken  up,  except  in  those 
wilder  regions  where  no  one  could  thrive  without  some 
previous  experience  of  the  country.  The  settling  of  the 
newer  parts  of  the  country,  such  as  those  between  the 
Zambesi  and  the  tropic  of  Ca])ric()rn,  is  chiefly  carried  on 
by  the  Boers  of  the  Transvaal  and,  to  a  less  extent,  of  the 
British  colonies ;  for  the  Boers  retain  their  passion  for 


>  I         rl 


oods 
itioii, 

owu- 
iman, 
blics, 
imple 
»f  the 
t  for 


THE   ECONOMIC   FUTURE   OF   SOUTH   AFRICA      4G5 

trekking  out  into  the  wiUlerness,  while  tlie  English,  with 
few  exceptions,  like  to  keep  within  reach  of  one  another 
and  of  civilization.  Accordingly,  the  country  receives 
comparatively  few  recruits  from  rural  Euroi)e,  and  its  own 
rural  population  grows  only  by  natural  increase.  There 
are  i)robably  more  natives  of  ludia  to-day  tilling  the  soil 
in  Natal  alone  than  the  whole  number  of  agricultur- 
ists who  have  come  from  Europe  in  the  last  thirty 
years,  .   , 

We  may  now  endeavor  to  sum  up  the  fa(;ts  of  the  ease 
and  state  the  conclusions  to  which  th"}  point. 

South  Africa  is  already,  and  will  be  to  an  increasing 
extent,  a  country  of  great  mineral  wealth.  It  is  only  in 
the  diamond-fields,  especially  those  of  Kimberley,  and  in 
the  gold-fields  oi  the  Witwatersrand  that  the  wealth  has 
as  yet  been  })roved  to  exist,  so  far  as  regards  i)recious 
stones  and  precious  metals,  but  it  may  exist  also  in  many 
other  districts.  It  is  not  confined  to  precious  stones  and 
metals,  and  when  these  have  been  exhausted,  copper,  iron, 
and  coal  may  continue  to  furnisli  good  returns  to  mine- 
owners  and  plenty  of  employment  to  work-i)eople.  The 
duration  of  the  gold-fiehls  generally  is  uncertain,  but 
those  of  the  Witwatersrand  will  last  for  at  least  half  a 
century,  and  will  maintain  for  all  that  period  an  indus- 
trial population  and  a  market  for  commodities  which, 
though  small  when  measured  by  the  standard  of  the  north- 
ern hemisphere,  will  be  quite  uni(|ue  in  Africa  south  of 
the  equator. 

South  Africa  is,  and  will  continue  to  be,  a  great  ranch- 
ing country ;  for  nearly  all  of  its  vast  area  is  fit  for  live 
stock,  though  in  large  regions  the  proportion  of  sto<;]'  to 
the  acre  must  remain  small,  owing  to  tlie  scarcity  of  fetnl. 
It  will  therefore  continue  to  export  wool,  goats'  hair,  and 


|1 


•  \ 


'I 


^   I    fM 


i    < 


i 


■;l 


' ; 


It  J 


4G0 


IMPKESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


ij'a? 


hides  in  largje  quantities,  and  may  also  export  meat,  and 
possibly  dairy  i>roducts. 

South  Africa  has  been,  is,  and  will  probably  continue  to 
be  for  a  good  while  to  eonie,  a  country  in  which  only  a  very 
small  part  of  the  land  is  tilled,  and  from  which  little  or 
no  agricultural  produce,  except  fruit,  sugar,  and  perhaps  to- 
bacco, will  be  exported.  Only  two  things  seem  likely  to  in- 
crease its  agricultuial  productiveness.  One  of  these  is  the 
dis('overy  of  some  preservative  against  nuilarial  fever  which 
might  enable  the  lowlands  of  the  east  coast,  from  Durban 
northward,  to  1)6  cultivated  much  more  largely  than  they 
can  be  now.  The  other  is  the  introduction  of  irrigation 
on  a  large  scale,  an  undertaking  Avhich  at  present  would 
be  profitable  in  a  few  places  only.  Whether  in  futuiv  it 
will  be  worth  while  to  irrigate  largely,  and  whether,  if  this 
be  done,  it  will  be  done  by  companies  buying  and  working 
large  farms,  or  by  coj^panies  distributing  water  to  small 
farmers,  as  the  government  distributes  water  in  Egypt  and 
some  parts  of  India,  are  questions  which  may  turn  out  to 
have  an  important  bearing  on  the  development  of  the 
country,  but  which  need  not  be  discussed  now. 

South  Africa  iias  not  been,  and  shows  no  signs  of  be- 
coming, a  manufacturing  country.  Water-power  is-  absent. 
Coal  is  not  of  the  best  quality.  Labor  is  neither  cheap  nor 
good.  Even  the  imposition  of  a  pretty  high  protective 
tariff  would  not  be  likely  to  stimulate  the  establishment  of 
iron- works  or  -foundries  on  a  large  scale,  nor  of  factories 
of  textile  goods,  for  the  local  market  is  too  small  to  make 
competition  with  Europe  a  profitable  enterprise.  In  these 
respects,  as  in  many  others,  the  conditions,  physical  and 
economic,  differ  so  nmcli  from  those  of  the  British  North 
American  or  Australian  colonies  that  the  course  of  indus- 


k  i 


THE  ECONOMIC  FUTURE  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA  407 


•at,  and 


trial  development  is  likely  to  be  quite  different  from  what 
it  has  been  there. 

From  these  conelusions  anoth»,r  of  great  importance 
follows.  The  white  popiil*  tion  will  be  scanty  in  pro- 
portion to  the  area  of  the  country.  At  present  it  is,  in 
the  two  British  colonies  and  the  two  Dutch  republics,  only 
about  one  and  a  half  persons  to  the  square  mile,  while  over 
the  other  territories  it  is  incomparably  snuiHcr. 

Tlie  country  will  continue  to  be,  so  lonj;  as  the  present 
agricultural  conditions  do  not  change,  a  wilderiu'ss,  with  a 
few  oases  of  jjopulatiou  scattered  at  long  distances  from 
one  another.  The  white  inhabitants  will,  moreover,  l)e 
very  unequally  distrilnited.  At  present,  of  a  total  po})ula- 
tion  of  about  7;](),0()0,  more  than  one  fourth  lives  in  the 
mining  district  of  the  Kand  ;  one  sixth  is  found  in  the  five 
principal  seaports  on  the  southern  and  southeastern  coast ; 
tlie  remaining  seven  twelfths  are  thinly  dispersed  over  tlie 
rest  of  the  countrv  in  solitarv  farms  or  villaues,  or  in  a  verv 
few  small  towns,  the  largest  of  which,  Kimberley,  has  only 
10,000  inhabitants.  The  only  towns  that  are  growing  are 
the  tivo  chief  seaports,  and  Johannesburg  with  its  tribu- 
tary mining  villages.  Assuming  the  present  growth  of 
the  Rand  to  continue,  it  nuiy  have  in  ten  years  about 
500,000  whites,  which  will  be  liot  much  less  than  one  half 
of  the  then  white  population  of  the  whole  country.  Stim- 
ulated by  the  trade  which  the  Rand  will  supi)ly,  the  five 
sea]  orts  will  probably  also  grow ;  while  elsewhere  popula- 
tion may  remain  almost  stationary.  Unless  the  gold-roefs 
of  the  country  beyond  the  Limpopo  turn  out  well  and 
create  in  that  region  miniature  copies  of  the  Rand  district, 
there  seems  no  reason  to  expect  the  total  number  of  whites 
to  reach  1,200,000  vi  less  than  twenty  years.     After  that 


1  f 


n  1 


r  V 


!h 


:    1    ^ 


■if 


fill? 


hi 


!    )  It 


I  ; 


408 


IMPliESSIONS   OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


time  growth  will  depend  upon  the  future  of  agriculture, 
and  the  future  of  agriculture  depends  on  so  many  causes 
independent  of  South  Afri«ra  that  it  would  ))e  unsafe  to 
make  any  predictions  regarding  it.  I  know  some  South 
Africans,  able  men,  who  think  that  the  day  will  come 
when  ihe  l^lacks  will  begin  to  retire  northward,  and  a 
large  white  population  will  till  their  own  farms  by  their 
own  labor,  with  the  aid  of  irrigation.  Of  the  advent  of 
such  a  day  there  are  no  present  signs,  yet  strange)* 
changes  have  happened  in  our  time  than  this  change  woidd 
})e.  Other  South  Afvicans  believe  that  minerals  not  less 
valuable  than  those  which  the  last  twenty  years  have  re- 
vealed are  likely  to  be  dis(;overed  in  other  places.  This 
also  may  happen,— South  Africa,  it  has  been  said,  is  a 
land  of  surprises,— and  if  it  does  happen  there  may  be 
another  inrush  like  that  whi(?h  has  filled  the  Rand.  All 
that  one  can  venture  to  do  now  is  to  point  out  the  prob- 
able result  of  the  conditions  which  exist  at  this  moment, 
and  these,  though  they  point  to  a  continued  increase  of 
mineral  production,  do  not  point  to  any  large  or  rapid 
increase  of  white  inhabitants. 

Twenty  years  hence  the  white  population  is  likelj'  to  be 
composed  in  about  equal  proportions  of  urban  and  rural 
elements.  The  "rban  element  vnW  be  mainly  mining, 
gathered  at  one  great  center  on  the  Rand,  and  possibly  at 
some  smaller  centers  in  other  disti'icts.  The  rural  element, 
consisting  of  people  who  live  in  villages  or  solitary  farm- 
houses, will  remain  comparatively  backward,  because  little 
affected  bv  the  social  forces  which  work  suddenlv  and 
potently  upon  close-packed  industrial  communities,  and  it 
may  find  itself  very  different  in  tone,  temper,  and  tenden- 
cies from  its  urban  fellow-citizens.  The  contrast  now  so 
marked  between  the  shopkeeper  of  Cape  Town  and  the 


•1     . 1 


THE   K( 'GNOMIC   FUTURE   OF   SOUTH   AFUICA      400 


iiltiin 


miner  of  Johaimesburg  on  the  one  liand,  and  the  fanner 
of  the  Karroo  or  the  northern  Transvaal  on  the  otlier,  may 
be  then  hardly  less  marked  between  tlie  two  seetions  of 
the  white  popnlation.  But  these  seetions  will  have  one 
thing  in  conmion.  Both  will  belong?  to  an  upper  stratum 
of  society :  both  will  have  beneath  them  a  mass  of  laljor- 
ing  blacks,  and  they  will  therefore  form  an  industrial  aris- 
tocracy resting  on  Kafir  labor. 


f '/ 


■i 


30* 


I 


'*ftW»«MlMipH*aft«QW«*" 


\ 


CHAPTER  XXVII 


REFLECTIONS  AND  FORECASTS 


!i 


IN  preceding  chapters  I  liave  endeavored  to  present  a 
I)ieture  of  South  Africa  as  it  stands  to-day,  and  to  sketcli 
the  leading  events  in  its  liistory  to  which  its  present  politi- 
cal conditions  are  duo.  Now,  in  bringing  the  book  to  a 
close,  I  desire  to  add  a  few  reflections  on  the  forces  which 
have  been  at  work,  and  to  attempt  the  more  hazardous 
task  of  conjecturing  how  those  forces  are  likely  to  operate 
in  the  future. 

The  progress  of  the  country,  and  the  peculiar  form 
which  its  problems  have  taken,  are  the  resultant  of  three 
causes.  One  of  these  is  the  character  which  nature  has 
impressed  upon  it.  Of  this  I  have  already  spoken  (Chap- 
ter VI),  pointing  out  how  the  high  interior  plateau,  with 
its  healthful  and  bracing  climate,  determined  the  main  line 
of  European  advance  and  secured  the  predominance,  not 
of  the  race  which  first  discovered  the  countrv,  but  of  the 
race  which  approached  it,  far  later  in  time,  from  its  best 
side.  It  is  also  in  this  physical  character  that  one  must 
seek  the  explanation  of  the  remarkably  slow  progress  of 
the  country  in  wealth  and  population.  South  Africa  be- 
gan to  be  occupied  by  white  men  earlier  than  any  part  of 
the  American  continent.     The  first  Dutch  settlement  was 

470 


*  \bi.is'*-  h 


\U.., 


KEFLKCTIONS   AND   KOHECASTS 


471 


but  little  posterior  to  those  Eiifj^lisli  settlements  in  North 
Anieriea  wliich  have  p'owii  into  u  nation  of  seventy-tlve 
millions  of  people,  and  nearly  a  eentnry  and  a  half  itrior 
to  the  first  En^^lish  settlements  in  Australia.  It  is  the  un- 
liealthfulness  of  the  east  eoast  and  the  dryness  of  the  rest 
of  the  eountry  that  are  mainly  aeeountable  for  this  tardy 
growth— a  growth  whieh  might  have  been  still  more  tiudy 
but  for  the  political  eauses  that  drove  the  Boers  into  the 
far  interior.  And  again,  it  is  the  physieal  eontiguration 
of  the  eountry  that  has  made  it,  and  is  likely  to  keep  it, 
one  eountr}'.  This  is  a  point  of  cardinal  importance. 
Though  divided  into  two  British  colonies,  with  several 
other  pieces  of  British  territory,  and  two  Boer  republics, 
the  habitable  parts  of  South  Africa  form  one  community, 
all  the  parts  of  which  must  stand  or  fall  together.  The 
Great  Plateau  is  crossed  1)V  no  lines  of  i)hvsical  denuirca- 

4'  Ik. 

tion  all  the  wav  from  the  Zambesi  to  the  Ilex  Biver  (some 
fifty  miles  northeast  of  Cape  Town),  and  the  coast  regions 
are  closely  bound  by  economic  ties  to  the  plateau,  which 
through  them  touches  the  outer  world.  Popular  si)eech 
which  talks  of  South  Africa  as  one  whole  is  scientifically 
right. 

The  two  other  causes  that  have  ruled  the  fortunes  and 
guided  the  development  of  the  country  have  been  the 
qualities  and  relations  of  tlie  races  that  inhabit  it,  and  the 
character  of  the  government  which  has  sought  from  afar 
to  control  the  relations  of  those  races.  These  deserve  to 
be  more  fully  considered. 

English  statesmen  have  for  fifty  years  been  accustomed 
to  say  that,  of  all  the  colonies  of  Great  Britain,  none  has 
given  to  the  mother  country  so  much  disquiet  and  anxiety 
as  South  Africa  has  done.  This  is  another  way  of  ex- 
pressing the  fact  which  strikes  the  traveler— that  no  other 


!l 


I', 


ji 


!) 


Jl 


47iJ 


IMI'UKSSIUNS  UF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


I 


'< 


British  colony  1ms  cniiiprosscd  so  muoli  exciting  history 
into  tho  lust  sixty  or  seventy  years.  The  reason  is  un- 
(lonbtedly  to  be  t'onnd  in  the  eirenmstanee  tliat  South 
Africa  has  had  two  sets  of  race  (|uestions  to  deal  with: 
questions  between  tin*  wiiites  and  the  aborigines,  questions 
between  the  Dutch  and  the  English.  It  is  this  hitter  set 
of  (juestions  that  have  ]»een  the  main  thread  of  South 
African  annals.  Whv  have  they  ])roved  so  troublesome? 
Why  are  they  so  troublesome  to-day,  when  we  can  h)ok 
at  them  with  a  vision  enlarged  and  a  temper  mellowed  by 
wide  experience?  Partly  from  an  element  inherent  in  all 
race  (juestions.  They  are  not  (piestions  that  (Min  be  settled 
on  pure  business  lines,  by  an  adjustment  of  the  material 
interests  of  the  parties  concerned.  They  involve  senti- 
ment, and  thus,  like  (piestions  of  religicm,  t(meh  the  dce])er 
si)rings  of  emotion.  And  they  spring  from,  or  arc  involved 
with,  incomj)atibilities  of  character  which  prevent  either 
sto(!k  from  fiilly  understanding,  and  therefore  fully  ti'ust- 
i]ig,  the  men  of  the  other.  Suspicion,  if  not  positive 
aversion,  makes  it  difficult  for  men  to  work  together,  ovon 
where  the  political  arrangements  that  govern  their  rela- 
ticms  are  just  and  fair  to  both.  But  something  may  also 
be  ascribed  to  certain  nndign  accidents  which  ])lasted  the 
prospect,  once  fair,  of  a  friendly  fusion  between  the  Dutch 
and  the  English,  races  that  seemed  eminently  fit  to  ho  fused. 
The  British  annexation  of  Cape  Colony  occurred  at  an  un- 
fortunate time.  Had  it  liappened  thirty  years  earlier  no 
difficulties  would  have  arisen  over  the  natives  and  slavery, 
because  at  that  time  the  new  philanthropy  had  not  begun 
to  influence  English  opinion  or  the  British  government. 
Had  it  happened  in  later  days,  when  steam  had  given 
quicker  and  more  frequent  ocean  communication,  Britain 
and  the  Colony  would  each  have  better  known  what  the 


It 


HKFIiKCTloNS   AND    FOICKCASTS 


■J7:i 


othor  tlioujrlit  and  wished,  luid  tlic  errors  that  Jiliennted 
the  Boers  mi^dit  never  have  been  eoinTnitte<l.  The  epoch 
of  tlie  annexation  was  precisely  the  epoch  in  wliicli  tiie 
differences  between  Kn^rlisli  feeling'  and  colonial  t'eeiinjr 
were  most  marked  and  most  likely  to  lead  to  misnndi-r- 
standinp  and  conflict. 

For  there  lias  been  in  th<^  antagonism  of  the  Boers  and 
the  P^n^disli  far  more  thai.  Mie  jealousy  of  two  races.  There 
has  been  a  collision  of  two  tyi)es  of  civilization,  one  belon^- 
inj;  to  the  nineteenth  century,  the  other  \o  th<'  seventeenth. 
His  i.solation,  not  oidy  in  a  distant  corner  of  the  .soutliern 
hemisphere,  })ut  in  the  p*eat,  wide,  bare  v«'ldt  over  whi<'h 
his  flocks  and  herds  roam,  has  kept  the  Boer  fast  l)ound 
in  the  ideas  and  ha))its  of  a  jwist  a^e,  and  he  shrinks  frcin 
the  contact  of  the  keen,  restless  modern  num,  with  new 
arts  of  ^ain  and  new  forms  of  j)leasure,  just  as  a  Puritan 
farmer  of  Cromwell's  day  mijfht  slirink  were  he  broujjht 
to  life  and  forced  to  pluiifj^e  into  tlie  current  of  modern 
London.  Had  the  Boers  been  of  Kn^lisli  stock,  but  sub- 
jected to  the  same  conditions  as  those  wliich  ko\)t  the 
seventeenth  century  alive  in  the  country  behind  th<'  C*aj)e, 
they  too  would  have  resisted  the  new  ways  of  the  new 
I'ulers ;  but  beinjj:  of  one  race  with  those  rulers,  the  strupr- 
^le  would  soon  have  been  over.  It  is  the  fact  that  the  old 
Cape  settlers  had  a  language  of  their  own,  and  a  sense  <>f 
blood-kinship  to  hold  them  together,  that  has  eiuibled  the 
Dutch  element  to  remain  (cohesive,  and  given  them  an 
Africander  patriotism  of  their  own— a  patriotism  whi(^h  is 
not  Dutch,  for  they  care  nothing  for  the  traditions  of 
Holland,  but  purely  Africander. 

Their  local  position  as  half-nomadic  inhabitants  of  a 
wide  interior  gave  a  peculiar  character  to  that  struggle 
between  the  mother  country  and  the  colonists  which  has 


i 


I   / 


(1 


*' 


474 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


;)  I 


'rl> 


il'll'H 


,ll' 


:     ,t! 


several  times  arisen  in  British  history.  They  were  so  few 
and  so  poor,  as  compared  with  the  people  of  the  thirteen 
colonies  of  the  North  American  coast  in  1776,  that  it  was 
useless  for  them  to  rebel  and  fight  for  independence,  as 
those  colonies  had  done.  On  the  other  hand,  they  were 
not,  like  the  French  of  Lower  Canada,  rooted  in  the  soil 
as  agriculturists.  Hence  a  middle  course  between  rebel- 
lion and  submission  offered  itself.  That  was  secession. 
They  renounced  not  only  their  political  allegiance,  but 
even  the  very  lands  where  they  had  dwelt,  seeking  the 
protection  of  the  desert  as  other  emigrants  before  them 
had  sought  thnt  of  the  ocean.  Thus  again,  and  more  (!om- 
pletely,  isolai:ed  since  1830,  the  emigrant  Boers,  and  espe- 
ciallv  those  of  the  Transvaal,  have  been  al)le  to  retain  their 
old  ways  for  sixty  years  longer,  and  have  grown  more  anti- 
English  than  ever.  On  the  other  hand,  tlie  English  of  the 
Colony,  whose  English  sentiment  was  quickened  by  these 
events,  have  remained  more  thoroughly  English  than  those 
of  most  British  colonies,  and  have  never  conceived  the  idea 
of  severing  their  own  connection  with  the  mother  country. 
That  the  emigrant  Boers  became  republicans  was  due 
rather  to  circumstance  than  to  conscious  purpose.  A 
monarch  they  could  not  have,  because  there  was  no  one 
designated  for  the  place,  as  well  as  because  they  had  the 
instinct  of  general  disobedience.  But  for  a  long  time  they 
tried  to  rub  along  with  no  more  government  or  leadership 
than  the  needs  of  war  required.  Seldom  has  any  people 
been  so  little  influenced  by  abstract  political  ideas,  yet 
seldom  has  a  people  had  so  perfect  an  opportunity  of  trj^- 
ing  political  experiments  and  testing  the  theories  of  politi- 
cal philosophers.  But  the  Boers  vv^ere,  and  are  still,  a  strictly 
practical  people.  Their  houses  give  them  cover  from  sun 
and  rain,  but  nothing  more ;  there  is  little  comfort  and 


Vi\ 


I  i) 


REFLECTIONS  AND  FORECASTS 


475 


no  elegance.  So  their  institutions  were  the  fewest  and 
simplest  under  whieli  men  have  ever  governed  themselves. 
It  is  therefore  no  theoretical  attachment  to  democracy  that 
has  helped  the  Boers  to  resist  the  English ;  it  is  merely 
the  wish  to  be  left  alone,  and  a  stubbornness  of  will  that 
has  made  independence  seem  more  desirable  the  more  it 
is  threatened. 

Even  tliis  admirable  stubbornness  would  hardly  have 
carried  them  through  but  for  their  disi)ersi<)n  over  vast 
spaces.  That  dispersion,  while  it  retarded  tlieir  political 
growth  and  social  progress,  made  them  hard  to  reach  or 
to  conquer.  Tlie  British  government  desi)aired  of  ovei'- 
taking  and  surrounding  them,  for  they  were  scattered  like 
antelopes  over  the  lonely  veldt,  and  there  was  a  still  vaster 
and  equally  lonely  veklt  behind  them  into  wlndi  they 
could  retire.  To  pursue  them  seemed  a  wild-goose  chas<', 
and  a  costly  one,  in  which  there  was  much  to  spend  and 
little  to  gain.  Thus  their  weakness  has  proved  their 
strength,  aiul  the  more  settled  they  become  in  the  future, 
the  less  can  they  hope  to  escape  the  influences  they  have 
so  long  resisted. 

But  for  the  maintenance  of  the  sentiment  of  Boer  na- 
tionality by  the  two  Boer  republics,  the  antagonism  of 
Dutch  and  English  in  Cape  Colony  would  have  ere  now 
died  out,  for  there  has  been  little  or  nothing  in  colonial 
politics  to  sustain  it.  The  interests  of  the  farmers  of  both 
stocks  are  identical,  their  rights  are  in  all  respects  tlie 
same,  and  the  British  government  has  l)een  perfectly  impar- 
tial. The  Boers  in  the  Colony  {ire  good  citizens  and  loyal 
subjects.  It  is  only  the  character  of  the  country  and  the 
conditions  of  their  pastoral  life  that  have  retarded  their 
social  fusion  with  the  English,  as  it  is  only  the  passions 
aroused  by  the  strife  of  Boers  and  Englisirmen  in  theTrans- 


;.)' 


476 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


K) 


vaal  tliat  tvoked  in  1881,  and  have  again  evoked  in  1896, 
a  political  opposition  between  the  races.  Fortunately,  the 
sentiments  of  the  Dutch  have  had  a  safe  outlet  in  the 
colonial  Parliament.  The  wisdom  of  the  policy  which 
gave  responsible  government  has  been  signally  vindicated ; 
for,  as  constitutional  means  have  existed  for  influencing 
the  cabinet  at  home,  feelings  which  might  otherwise  have 
found  vent  in  a  revolt  or  a  second  secession  have  been 
diverted  into  a  safe  channel. 

The  other  set  of  race  troubles,  those  b(;tween  white  set- 
tlers and  the  aT)origines  of  the  land,  have  boen  graver  in 
South  Africa  than  any  whicli  European  governments  have 
luid  to  face  in  anv  otlier  new  countrv.  The  Red  ]Men  of 
North  America,  splendidly  as  thej'  fought,  never  seriously 
checked  the  advance  of  the  whites.  The  revolts  of  the 
aborigines  in  Peru  and  Central  America  were  easily  sup- 
])ressed.  The  once  warlike  Maoris  of  New  Zealand  have, 
under  the  better  methods  of  the  hist  twentv-five  vears, 
become  quiet  and  tolerably  contented.  Even  the  French 
in  Algeria  had  not  so  long  a  strife  to  maintain  with  the 
Moorish  and  Kabvle  tribes  as  the  Dutch  and  the  Eniiflish 
had  with  the  natives  at  the  Cape.  The  south-coast  Kafirs 
far  outnumbered  the  whites,  were  full  of  courage,  had  a 
very  rough  and  thickly  wooded  country  to  defend,  and  w^ere 
so  ignorant  as  never  to  know  when  they  were  beaten.  A 
more  intelligent  race  might  have  sooner  abandoned  the 
contest.  The  melancholy  chapter  of  native  wars  seems  to 
be  now  all  but  closed,  except  perhaps  in  the  far  north. 
These  wars,  however,  did  much  to  retard  the  progress  of 
South  Africa  and  to  give  it  a  bad  name.  They  deterred 
many  an  English  farmer  from  emigrating  thither  in  the 
years  between  1 810  and  1870.  They  annoyed  and  puzzled 
the  home  government,  and  made  it  think  the  Colony  a 


u 


REFLECTIONS  AND  FORECASTS 


477 


I89fi, 
\,  the 
the 
^^hich 
Ued; 
icing- 
|ha\'c 
Ibeeu 


worthless  possession,  whence  little  profit  or  credit  was  to 
be  drawn  in  return  for  the  unendinjj  military  expenditure. 
And  they  gave  the  colonists  ground  for  complaints,  some- 
times just,  sometimes  unjust,  against  the  home  govern- 
ment, which  was  constantly  accused  of  parsimony,  of  short- 
sightedness, of  vacillation,  of  sentimental  weakness,  in 
sending  out  too  few  troops,  in  refusing  to  annex  fresh 
territory,  in  patching  up  a  hollow  peace,  in  granting  too 
easy  terms  to  the  natives. 

Wlioever  reviews  the  whole  South  African  policy  of  the 
British  government  during  the  ninety  years  that  have 
elapsed  since  180G  cannot  but  admit  that  many  errors  were 
committed.  Many  precious  opportunities  for  establisliing 
British  authority  on  a  secure  basis  were  lost.  Many  things 
were  done  imperfectly,  and  therefore  had  to  be  done  over 
and  over  again,  which  it  woidd  have  been  cheaper  as 
well  as  wiser  to  finish  off  at  once.  Many  stops,  prudent 
in  themselves,  and  dictated  by  excellent  motives,  were 
taken  at  a  moment  and  in  a  way  which  made  them  mis- 
understood and  resisted.  Reflecting  on  these  mistakes, 
one  sometimes  wonders  that  the  country  was  not  lost  alto- 
gether to  Britain,  and  thinks  of  the  saying  of  the  old 
Swiss  statesman:  Hominnm  neglhjentia,  Bei  lyrovidentlUy 
reffitur  Helvetia.  It  may  nevertheless  be  truly  said  for  the 
British  government  that  it  almost  always  sought  to  act 
justly,  and  that  such  advances  as  it  made  were  not  dic- 
tated by  an  aggressive  spirit,  but  (with  few  exceptions) 
compelled  by  the  necessities  of  the  case.  And  it  must 
not  be  forgotten  that,  as  all  home  governments  err  in 
their  control  of  colonies,— Spain,  Portugal,  and  France 
have  certainly  erred  in  their  day  far  more  fatally  than 
England,— so  many  of  tlie  errors  wliich  now  most  startle 
us  in  the  annals  of  South  Africa  were  all  but  inevita})le. 


i 


It 


,  ,1 


Mi 


¥ 


\h 


478 


IMPKESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


because  the  wisest  man  could  not  have  foreseen  the 
course  which  things  have  in  fact  taken.  Whoever  tries 
to  look  at  the  events  of  sixty,  thirty,  or  even  twenty 
years  ago  with  the  eyes  of  those  times,  and  remembers 
that  colonial  ministers  in  England  had  to  consider  not 
only  what  they  thought  best,  but  what  they  could  get  the 
uninstru(ited  public  opinion  of  their  own  country  to  ac- 
cept, will  be  more  indulgent  than  the  colonists  are  in  their 
judgment  of  past  mistakes.  For  instance,  it  is  apt  to  be 
forgotten  that  the  Cape  was  not  occupied  with  a  view  to 
the  establishment  of  a  European  colony,  in  our  present 
sense  of  the  word.  The  Dutch  took  it  that  they  might 
l)lant  a  cabbage-garden;  the  English  took  it  that  they  might 
have  a  naval  station  and  half-way  house  to  India.  Not 
till  our  uvvn  time  did  i)eople  begin  to  think  of  it  as  capable 
of  supporting  a  great  civilized  community  and  furnishing 
a  new  market  for  Britisli  goods ;  not  till  1869  was  it  known 
as  a  region  whence  great  wealth  might  be  drawn.  Hence 
Britain,  which  during  the  first  half  of  this  century  was 
busy  in  conquering  India,  in  colonizing  Australasia,  and  in 
settling  things  to  rights  in  Canada,  never  cared  to  bend  her 
energies  to  the  development  of  South  Africa,  then  a  less 
promising  field  for  those  energies,  spent  no  more  money 
on  it  than  she  could  help,  and  sought  to  avoid  the  acqui- 
sition of  new  territory,  because  that  meant  new  troubles 
and  new  outlays. 

The  views  of  colonial  policy  which  prevailed  in  England 
down  till  about  1870  were  very  different  from  those  which 
most  of  us  now  hold.  The  statesmen  of  the  last  genera- 
lion  accepted  that  cousiliKin  coercendi  intra  terminos  imperii 
which,  according  to  Tacitus,  Augustus  held  sound  for  an 
empire  less  scattered  than  is  that  of  Britain.  They  thought 
that  Britain  had  already  more  territory  than  she  could  hope 


ri  ii 


^  ' 


KEFLECTIONIS  AND   FORECASTS 


479 


the 
tries 
X'uty 
ibers 


to  develop  aiiJ  '^  the  long  run)  to  govern;  and  they 
therefore  sought  tc  ui.it  rather  than  increase  her  respon- 
sibilities. And  the>  l  ^ieved,  reasoning  somewhat  too 
liastUy  from  the  revolt  of  the  North  American  colonics, 
that  as  soon  as  the  new  Englisli  communities  to  which 
self-government  had  been,  or  was  in  due  course  to  be 
granted,  reached  a  certain  level  of  wealth  and  population 
tlicy  would  demand  and  receive  their  independence.  Thj  t 
the  fruit  would  fall  otf  the  old  tree  as  soon  as  it  was  ri})e 
was  the  favorite  metaphor  employed  to  coivey  what  nearly 
all  publicists  took  to  be  an  obvious  truth.  No  one  stated 
it  so  trenchantly  as  Disraeli  when  he  wrote:  "These 
wretched  colonies  will  all  be  indeperdent  too,  in  a  few 
years,  and  are  a  ndllstone  round  our  necks  " ;  but  tlie  dognui 
was  equally  accepted  by  politii'ans  belonging  to  the  other 
l)arty  in  the  state.  Those,  moreover,  were  days  in  wluch 
economy  and  retrenchment  were  popular  cries  in  England, 
and  when  it  was  deemed  the  duty  of  a  statesman  to  reduce 
as  far  as  possible  the  burdens  of  the  people.  Expenditure 
on  colonial  wars  and  the  administration  of  half-settled 
dis.ricts  was  odious  to  the  prudent  and  thrifty  contem- 
poraries or  disciples  of  Sir  Robert  Pe<'l  and  Ricliard  Cob- 
den.  Accordingly,  the  chief  aim  of  British  statesmen  from 
1830  till  1870  was  to  arrest  the  tide  of  British  advance, 
to  acquire  as  little  territory  as  possible,  to  leave  restless 
natives  and  emigrant  Boers  entirely  to  tliemselves.  Des- 
perate efforts  were  made  to  stop  the  Kafir  wars.  We  can 
now  see  that  the  law  of  nature  which  everywhere  over  tlie 
world  has  tempted  or  forced  a  strong  civilized  power  to  go 
on  conqiiering  the  savage  or  half-civilized  jieoples  on  its 
border,  the  law  which  has  carried  the  English  all  over 
India,  and  brought  the  Russians  from  the  Volga  to  the 
Pamirs  in  one  direction  and  to  the  mouth  of  the  Amur  in 


k  . 


I     '' 


]\i 


.)•      J 


i 
1 

\\ ,  ■ 

■»  ■ 
1 

r 

\ 

•if 

Hi' 

u 

■    T 

1 

480 


IMPRESSIONS  OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


another,  was  certain  to  (compel  the  Brilisli  {^fovernnient  to 
.subdue  and  annex  one  Katir  tribe  after  anotlier  until  either 
a  desert  or  the  territory  of  some  other  civilized  state  was 
reached.  But  fifty  years  ago  this  was  not  clearly  per- 
ceived; so  tlie  process,  which  niijjfht  have  inflicted  less 
sulTerin^  if  it  had  been  steadily  and  swiftly  carried 
throuj^li,  went  on  slowly  and  litfully,  profoundly  regretted 
by  the  statesmen  at  home. 

It  was  tlie  same  as  regards  the  Great  Plateau  and  the 
Boer  emigrants  who  dwelt  there.  Not  from  any  sympathy 
with  their  love  of  indei)enden('e,  but  ])ecause  she  did  not 
want  the  trouble  of  pursuing  and  governing  them  and  the 
wide  lands  they  were  si)read  over,  Kngland  resolved  to 
abandon  the  intei-ior  to  them.  In  18.')2  and  X^'A  she  nuule 
a  suprenni  effort  to  clicck  lier  own  onward  career,  first  by 
recognizing  the  indei)onden(!e  of  the  Transvaal  emigrants 
whose  allegiance  she  had  theretofore  (claimed,  then  by  actu- 
ally renouncing  her  rights  to  the  Orange  River  Sovereignty 
and  to  those  within  it  Avho  desired  to  continue  her  subjects. 
What  more  could  a  thrifty  and  cautious  an(J  conscientious 
country  do  ?  Nevertheless,  these  good  resolutions  had  to 
be  reconsidered,  these  self-denying  principles  foregone. 
Circumstances  were  too  strong  for  the  Colonial  Office.  In 
18G9  it  accepted  the  protectorate  of  Basutoland.  In  1871  it 
yielded  to  the  temptation  of  the  diamond-fields,  and  took 
Griqualand  West.  Soon  after  it  made  a  treaty  with 
Khama  which  gave  the  British  a  foothold  in  Bechuanaland. 
In  1877  it  annexed  the  Transvaal.  Bv  that  time  the  old 
ideas  were  beginning  to  pass  away,  and  to  be  replaced  by 
new  views  of  the  mission  and  destiny  of  Britain.  The 
wish  of  the  British  government  to  stand  still  had  been 
combated  all  along  by  powerful  inducements  to  move  on. 
The  colonists  always  pressed  for  an  advance  of  the  frontier. 


KEFLECTIONS  AND  F0RECA8TS 


•181 


nt  to 
itlier 
^  was 
per- 
iods 
irried 
otted 


The  Governor  usually  pressed  for  it.  The  home  jyovern- 
iiient  wa.s  itself  liaunted  ])y  a  fear  that  if  it  abandoned 
positions  of  vantage  its  sueeessors  might  afterward  luiv 
reason  to  rue  the  abandonment.  These  were  the  consi  ier- 
ations  tliat  drove  British  statesmen  to  the  two  most  mo- 
mentous steps  that  were  taken.  Two  things,  and  two 
only,  were  really  vital  to  British  interests— the  eontrol  of 
the  coast,  and  the  control  of  an  open  road  to  the  North. 
Accordingly,  the  two  decisive  steps  were  the  occui)ation 
of  Natal  in  1842-43,  which  shut  off  the  Boers  from  the 
sea,  and  the  taking  of  Griqualand  West  in  1871  (followed 
by  the  taking  of  southern  Bechuanaland  in  1884),  which 
secured,  ])etwe('n  the  Transvaal  on  the  one  side  and  the 
Kalahari  Desert  on  the  other,  a  free  access  to  the  great 
northern  plateau. 

The  tide  of  English  opinion  began  to  turn  al)out  1870, 
and  since  then  it  has  run  with  increasing  force  in  the 
direction  of  what  is  called  imperialism.  The  stritlcs  of 
advance  made  in  1884-85  and  1890  have  been  as  bold  and 
large  as  those  of  earlier  days  were  timid  and  halting ;  and 
the  last  expiring  struggles  of  the  old  policy  were  seen  in 
1884,  when  Lord  Derby,  who  belonged  to  the  departing 
school,  yielded  a  new  Convention  to  the  importunity  of  the 
Transvaal  Boers  and  allowed  Germany  to  establish  herself 
in  Damaraland.  But  it  is  due  to  Britain,  which  has  been 
accused,  and  so  far  as  regards  South  Africa  unjusth'  ac- 
cused, of  aggressive  aims,  to  recall  the  fact  that  she  strove 
for  many  years  to  restrict  her  dominion,  and  did  not  cease 
from  her  efforts  till  long  experience  had  shown  that  the  old 
policy  could  not  be  maintained,  and  till  the  advent  on  the 
scene  of  other  European  powers,  whom  it  was  thought 
prudent  to  keep  at  a  distance  from  her  own  settled  terri- 
tories, impelled  her  to  join  that  general  scramble  for  Africa 

31 


^Ul 


482 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


\      I 


M 


'f 


hi  1 


which  lias  been  so  straii{?e  a  feature  of  the  hist  two  decades. 
There  have  been  moments,  e\^en  since  tlie  o(*cu})ati()n  of  Iho 
two  supreme  points,  Basutohmd  in  18G9  and  Gri(|uahind 
West  in  1871,  when  it  has  seemed  possible  that  South 
i^frica  mijjjlit  become  Dutch  rather  than  English,  such  is 
the  tenacity  of  that  race,  and  so  deep  are  the  roots  which 
its  language  has  struck.  With  the  discovery  of  the 
Witwatersrand  gold-lields  that  possibility  seems  to  have 
j)assed  away.  The  process  of  territorial  distribution  is  in 
South  Africa  now  com])lete.  Every  colony  and  state  has 
become  li 
native  trili 
such  tribe  n 


"ed 


.  boundaries  defined  in  treaties.  Every 
.  .;'»w  some  legal  white  superior,  ami  no 
?.i,  urv  longer  forraidal)le.  The  old  race 
questions  have  passe,  or  are  passing,  into  new  phases. 
But  thev  will  l)e  at  least  as  difficult  in  their  new  forms  as 
in  their  old  ones.  I  will  devote  the  few  remaining  pages 
of  this  book  to  a  short  consideration  of  them  and  of  the 
other  problems  affecting  the  future  of  South  Africa  with 
which  they  are  involved. 

Reasons  have  been  given  in  a  preceding  chapter  for  the 
conclusion  that  bo^h  the  white  and  the  black  races  are 
likely  to  hold  their  ground  over  all  the  country,  and  that 
the  black  race  will  continue  to  be  the  more  numerous. 
Assuming  the  conditions  of  agriculture  to  remain  what 
they  are  now,  and  assuming  that  the  causes  which  now 
discourage  the  esta.blishment  cf  large  manufacturing  in- 
dustries do  not  pass  away,  there  will  probably  be  for  the 
next  seventy  years  a  large  white  population  on  the  gold- 
fields  and  at  the  chief  seaports,  and  only  a  small  white  popu- 
lation over  the  rest  of  the  country.  Even  should  irrigation 
be  largely  introduced,  it  would  be  carried  on  chiefly  by 
black  laborers.  Even  should  low  wages  or  the  discovery 
of  larger  and  better  deposits  of  iron  and  coal  stimulate  the 


KEl'LKCTIONS   AND    i'OUECASTS 


■ISA 


(levolopment  of  j^roiit  inaniit'a(!turinj;  industries,  still  it  is 
a  bljick  rather  thuii  a  white  population  that  would  be  there- 
with in(n'eased.  Various  (causes  iiuiy  bo  iina^nned  whi<'h 
would  niise  or  reduee  the  birth-rate  and  the  infant  death- 
rate  aniouj^  the  natives,  so  that  one  eaniot  feel  sun; 
that  the  existiu}^  proportion  })etween  them  and  the  whites 
will  be  maintained.  But  if  we  re<j:ard  the  (piestion  from 
the  point  of  view  of  labor,  and  take  the  mitives  to  repre- 
sent that  part  of  tlie  community  whieh  in  Europe  does 
the  harder  and  less  skilled  kinds  of  work,  both  in  eountrv 
and  in  town,  it  nuiy  Ix;  concluded  that  they  will  continue 
to  form  the  majority  even  where  they  live  amonj:,'  tht! 
white  peo])le,  without  countinp^  those*  areas  wiiere  tliev, 
and  they  alone,  are  settled  on  the  laiul.  But  it  is  impos- 
sible to  conjecture  how  larj^e  the  i^iajority  vvi"  be. 

The  Kafirs,  as  has  been  already  su^jj^esteo,  w'  p-adu- 
ally  lose  their  tribal  orpmization  and  co^  ^  to  ve  lik(5 
Europeans,  under  European  law.  They  w  '  b.  come  more 
generally  educated,  and  will  learn  skilled  ,ia  idierafts; 
many— perhaps,  in  the  long  run,  all— w"  '  speak  English. 
They  will  eventually  cease  to  be  heathens,  e.en  if  they  do 
not  all  become  Christians.  This  i)rocess  of  Euroi)eaniza- 
tion  will  spread  from  south  to  north,  and  may  ijrol^ablj'^ 
not  be  complete  in  the  north— at  any  rate,  in  the  German 
and  Portuguese  parts  of  the  north— till  the  end  of  next 
century.  But  long  before  that  time  the  natives  will  in 
many  places  have  begun  to  compete  (as  indeed  a  few  al- 
ready do)  with  the  whites  in  some  kinds  of  well-i)aid  labor. 
They  will  also,  being  better  educated  and  better  paid,  have 
become  less  submissive  than  they  are  now,  and  a  larger 
number  of  them  will  enjoy  the  suffrage.  What  will  be 
the  relations  of  the  two  races  when  these  things  have  come 
about,  say  within  two  or  three  generations  ? 


n 


484 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


v  f 


'    ! 


Consider  what  the  position  will  then  be.  Two  raees  will 
he  living  on  the  same  j^round,  in  close  and  constant  economic 
relations,  ])otli  those  of  employment  and  those  of  compo 
tition,  speaking  the  same  language  and  obeying  the  same 
laws,  differing,  no  donbt,  in  strength  of  intelligence  and 
will,  yet  with  many  members  of  the  weaker  race  superior 
as  individual  men  to  many  members  of  the  stronger. 
And  these  two  races,  separated  l)y  the  rei)ulsion  of  physi- 
cal differences,  will  ha\'e  no  social  relations,  no  mixture  of 
blood,  but  will  each  form  a  nation  by  itself  for  all  pur- 
poses save  those  of  industry  and  perhaps  of  politics. 
There  will,  no  doubt,  be  the  nt.'xus  of  industrial  interest, 
for  the  white  employer  will  need  the  labor  of  the  black. 
But  even  in  countries  where  no  rac(5  differences  intervene, 
the  industrial  nexus  does  not  prevent  bitter  class  hatreds 
and  labor  wars. 

Such  a  position— and  it  is  a  position  which  there 
seems  reason  to  expect— will  be  absolutely  without  prec- 
edent in  history  except  in  the  Southern  States  of  the 
American  Union,  where  almost  exactly  what  I  have  de- 
scribed has  come  to  pass,  with  the  addition  that  the  inferior 
race  has  in  theory  exactly  the  same  political  rights  as  the 
superior.  How  will  the  relations  of  two  races  so  living 
together  be  adjusted?  The  experieneo  of  the  Southern 
States  is  too  short  to  throw  much  light  on  this  problem. 
It  is,  however,  a  painful  experience  in  many  respects,  and 
it  causes  the  gravest  anxieties  for  the  future.  Similar  anx- 
ieties must  press  upon  the  mind  of  any  one  who  in  South 
Africa  looks  sixty  or  eighty  years  forward :  and  they  are 
not  diminished  by  the  fact  that  in  South  Africa  the  inferior 
race  greatly  exceeds  the  superior  in  number.  But  although 
the  position  I  have  outlined  seems  destined  to  arrive,  it  is 
still  so  distant  that  we  can  no  more  predict  the  particular 


liEKLKCTlONS   AND    KOKKC'ASTS 


485 


form  its  (lifflniltios  will  take  than  the  iiiariiicr  can  «l«'s<'ril)0 
tlif  iHX'ks  and  trues  mtoii  an  island  whose  hhie  mountains 
lie  descries  fv)r  tlic  lirsl  time  on  the  dim  hori/on.  What- 
ever tliose  dillicultics  may  be,  thev  Avill  he  less  formidalde 
if  tlie  whites  realize,  iK'fore  th«'  e<»lored  peojile  have  hepiin 
to  feela<;}j:rieved,tliat  they  have  p)t  t()live  with  the  natives, 
and  that  the  true  interests  of  both  races  are  in  the  lonj,'  run 
the  same. 

Altliouf^li  the  facts  we  luive  been  considerinj,''  suir«r«'st 
the  view  that  the  white  i)oi)ulation  of  South  Africa  will  ])e 
very  small  when  compared  with  that  of  the  North  Ameri- 
can or  Australasian  colonies,  they  also  su^r^est  that  the 
whites  M'ill  in  South  Afi-ica  hold  the  position  of  an  aris- 
tocracy, and  nuiy  draw  from  th:it  ])osition  some  of  the 
advantages  which  belong  to  those  who  are  oc<Mipied  only 
on  the  higher  kinds  (►f  work  and  have  fuller  opportunities 
for  intellectual  cultivation  than  tlie  nuiss  of  numual  hibor- 
ers  enjoy.  A  large  i)art  of  the  whites  will  lead  a  country 
life,  directing  the  field  work  or  the  ranching  of  their 
servants.  Those  who  dwell  in  the  towns  will  be  merchants 
or  employers  or  highly  skilled  artisans,  corresi)onding  gen- 
erally to  the  upper  and  middle  strata  of  society  in  North 
America  or  Australia,  but  probably  with  a  smaller  percen- 
tage of  exceptionally  wealthy  men.  There  is,  of  course, 
the  danger  that  a  class  may  form  itself  composed  of  men 
unfit  for  the  higher  kinds  of  work,  and  yet  too  lazy  or  too 
proud  to  work  with  their  hands ;  and  sonuj  observers  al- 
ready discover  signs  of  the  appearance  of  such  a  class. 
If  its  growth  can  be  averted,  the  conditions  for  the  pro- 
gress and  happiness  of  the  white  race  in  South  Africa 
seem  very  favorable ;  and  we  are  approaching  an  age  of 
the  world  when  the  quality  of  a  populL^ion  will  be  more 
important  than  its  quantity. 


\ 


48(1 


IMI'KESSIUNS  OF  «UUT1I   Al'iUCA 


n '  h 


In  this  forecast  I  Imve  sjii«l  notliinj?  of  tlio  f^old-minca, 
])Opiiuso  tliey  wil)  not  )>»*  ii  pcriiiiinont  factor.  Tlie  proscnt 
f^old  fevrr  at  the  Uand  is  a  fleeting  rpisodo  in  South 
African  liistory.  Gohl  has,  no  douitt,  phiycd  a  }^rcat  part 
in  tliat  liistory.  It  was  the  ho])0  of  p»ttiii^'  j,'ohl  that  made 
tlio  Portnj^uese  tlx  their  first  post  at  Sot'ala  in  laOf).  It 
was  tlic  discovery  of  th(»  ))ani<t't  jjfohl-heds  on  tiie  Wit- 
watcrsraud  in  IMS;')  that  finally  settled  the  que.stion,  till 
then  still  doubtful,  whether  South  AfricMi  was  to  he  an 
English  or  a  Dutcdi  country,  lint  fj;old-niinin^  will  i)ass 
away  in  a  few  decMides,  fo«'  the  methods  whicOi  the  enj;ineer 
now  conmumds  will  enable  him  within  that  time  to  extract 
from  the  rocks  all  the  wealth  now  stored  up  in  them.  A 
day  will  come  when  nothinjij  will  be  left  to  tell  the  trav- 
eler of  the  industry  which  drew  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
men  to  a  barren  ridge,  except  the  heaps  of  refuse  whose 
uj^liness  few  shrubs  will,  in  that  dry  land,  s})rinj?  up  to 
cover.  But  South  Afri(?a  will  still  be  a  ])astoral  and  agri- 
cultural country,  and  none  the  less  hapi)y  because  the  gold 
is  gone. 

The  question  of  the  relations  of  the  white  race  to  the  black 
is  the  gravest  of  those  which  confront  South  Africa ;  but 
it  is  not  the  nearest.  More  urgent,  if  less  serious,  is  the 
other  race  problem— that  of  adjusting  the  rights  and 
claims  of  the  Dutch  and  the  English. 

It  has  already  been  explained  that,  so  far  as  Cai)e  Colony 
and  Natal  are  concerned,  there  is  really  no  question  pend- 
ing between  the  two  races,  and  nothing  to  prevent  t/iem 
from  working  in  perfect  harmony  and  concord.  Neither 
does  the  Orange  Free  State  provide  any  fuel  for  strife, 
since  there  both  Boers  and  English  live  in  peace  and  are 
equally  attached  to  the  institutions  of  their  republic.  It  is 
in  the  Transvaal  that  the  center  of  disturbance  lies ;  it  is 


HKFLKCTIONS   AND   l'()KK<'ASTS 


487 


|1 


tlience  the  snn'oundinf?  earth  has  so  often  been  shaken  and 
the  peaee  of  all  South  Africa  threatened.  I  have  already 
deserilK'd  the  <'ireunistanees  wliieh  hroufrht  about  the  re- 
cent troultlt's  in  that  state.  To  eonmient  upon  what  has 
happened  since  the  risiiijx,  to  criticize  either  the  attilud«5 
of  the  President  or  tin;  various  essays  in  diplomacy  of  the 
Hritish  ^'overnment,  wouhl  be  to  enter  that  field  f  current 
politics  which  I  have  resolved  to  avoid.  What  may  fitly 
be  done  hero  is  to  state  the  salient  and  unconti'overted 
facts  of  the  situation  as  it  stands  in  the  michlle  of  1S!)7. 

What  arc  these  facts?  The  Hocr  popuhition  of  the 
Transvaal  is  rou«;hly  estinuited  at  'ir),()()0,  of  whonr  al)out 
24,(K)()  are  voting  citizens.  The  Tit  landers,  or  alien 
po})ulation,  five  sixths  of  whom  speak  Kurdish,  are  esti- 
mated at  1S0,()()(),  of  whom  nearly  one  half  are  adult  nwiles. 
These  Uitlanders  hohl  si.xty-thret;  per  cent,  of  the  hunUul 
and  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  per.sonal  property  in  the  coun- 
try. In  Deeend>er,  189"),  their  number  was  increasinfj^  at 
the  rate  of  one  thousand  per  week  throujjfh  arrivals  from 
Cape  Town  alone;  and  thoujjfh  this  inllux  fell  off  for  a 
time,  while  political  troubles  were  checking  the  develop- 
ment of  the  mines,  it  rose  a^ain  with  the  renewal  of  that 
development.  Should  tln^  Deep  Lev<'ls  jjfo  on  pros])erin<jr  as 
is  expected,  the  rate  of  immi«rration  will  ))e  sustained,  and 
by  the  end  of  a.  d.  1905  there  will  prol)ably  ])e  000,000 
Uitlanders  in  the  Republic  —  that  is  to  say,  more  than 
seven  times  the  numl)er  of  the  Boers. 

The  numerical  disproportion  between  these  excluded 
persons— a  very  larg^e  part  of  whom  Avill  have  taken  root 
in  the  country— and  the  old  citizens  will  then  have  become 
verwhelmin^,  and  the  claim  of  the  former  to  enjoy  some 
share  in  the  government  will  be  practically  irresistible. 
The  concession  of  this  share  may  come  before  1905—1 


488 


niPKESSIONS  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA 


incline  to  iliink  it  will— or  it  may  come  somewliat  later. 
The  precise  date  is  a  small  matter,  and  de})ends  upon  })er- 
sonal  causes.  But  that  the  English-speaking;  element  will, 
if  the  mining  industry  continues  to  thrive,  become  politi- 
cally as  well  as  economically  supreme,  seems  inevitahle. 
No  j)olitical  agitation  or  demonstrations  in  the  Transvaal, 
nnu'li  less  any  intervention  from  outside,  need  come  into 
the  matter.  It  is  only  of  the  natural  causes  already  at 
work  that  I  sj)eak,  and  these  natural  causes  are  sufficient 
to  ])ring  about  the  result.  A  country  must,  after  all,  take 
its  character  from  the  large  majority  of  its  inhabitants,  es- 
pecially when  those  who  form  that  large  majority  are  the 
wealthiest,  most  educated,  and  most  enterprising  part  of 
the  ])opulatio'j. 

Whether  this  inevitable  admission  of  the  new  v'itizens 
will  happen  suddenly  or  gradually,  quietly  or  storndly,  no 
one  can  venture  to  predict.  There  are  things  which  we 
can  perceive  to  be  destined  to  occur,  though  the  time  and 
the  manner  may  be  doubtful.  But  as  it  will  be  dictated 
by  the  patent  necessities  of  the  case,  one  may  well  hope 
that  it  will  come  about  in  a  peaceable  way  and  leave  be- 
hind no  sense  of  irrit.:  tion  in  cither  race.  Boers  and  Eng- 
lish cannot  in  the  Transvaal  so  easil}'  blend  and  learn  to 
work  together  as  they  have  done  in  the  Orange  Free  State, 
because  they  are  socially  far  more  dissimilar  in  the  former 
state  than  they  have  been  in  the  latter.  But  the  extension 
of  the  suffrage,  while  it  will  be  followed  by  legislation  bene- 
ficial to  the  mining  industry,  need  not  involve  legislation 
harmful  to  the  material  interests  of  the  Boer  elenuMit.  On 
the  contrary,  the  Boers  themselves  will  ultimately  i)rofit 
by  any  increase  in  the  prosperity  of  the  country.  An  im- 
proved administration  will  give  a  more  assured  status  to 
the  judiciary,  as  well  as  a  better  set  of  laws  and  better 


REFLECTIONS  AND  FORECASTS 


489 


internal  communications,  advantages  which  will  be  helpful 
to  the  whole  Republic. 

That  the  change  should  come  about  pcaceaV.ly  is  im- 
mensely in  the  interests  not  only  of  the  Transvaal  itself,  but 
of  all  South  Africa.  The  irritation  of  the  Dutch  (;lement 
in  C'a])e  Colony,  both  in  1881  and  again  in  1896,  was  due  to 
an  impression  that  their  Transvaal  kinsfolk  were  being 
unfairly  dealt  with.  Should  that  impression  recur,  its 
influence  both  on  the  Orange  Free  State  and  on  the  Dutch 
of  Cape  Colony  would  be  unfortunate.  The  history  of 
South  Africa,  like  that  of  other  countries  nearer  home, 
warns  us  how  powerful  a  factor  sentiment,  and  especially 
tlie  sense  of  resentment  at  injustice,  may  become  in  politics, 
and  how  it  mav  continue  to  work  mischief  even  when  the 
injustice  has  been  repented  of.  It  is,  therefore,  not  only 
considerations  of  magnanimity  and  ecpiity,  l)ut  also  cjon- 
siderations  of  policy,  that  recommend  to  the  English  in 
South  Africa  and  to  the  British  government  an  attitude 
of  patience,  prudence,  and  a  strict  adherence  to  legal  rights. 
They  are  entitled  to  require  the  same  adherence  from  the 
Transvaal  government,  but  it  is  equally  their  intei-est  not  to 
depart  from  it  themselves,  and  to  avoid  even  the  appearance 
of  aggression.  The  mistakes  of  the  past  are  not  irremedi- 
able. Tact,  coolness,  and  patience  must  gradually  bring 
about  that  reconcilement  and  fusion  of  the  two  races  to 
which,  it  can  scarcely  be  doubted.  South  Africa  will  at  last 
attain. 

When,  by  the  enfranchisement  of  the  Uitlanders,  the 
Transvaal  has  ceased  to  be  a  purely  Dutch  state,  questions 
will  arise  as  to  its  relations  to  the  other  states  of  South 
Africa.  Cape  Colony  and  the  Orange  Free  State,  with 
Basutoland  and  the  Bechuanaland  Protectorate,  already 
form  a  Customs  Union,  and  they  have  long  sought  to  in- 


(  ' 


I       :t    = 


490 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFKICA 


<luce  the  Transvaal  and  Natal  to  enter  into  it  and  thereby 
establish  internal  free  trade  throughout  the  country. 
Natal  has  hitherto  refused,  because  she  deems  the  tariff  of 
the  Customs  Union  too  high ;  while  the  Transvaal  people 
have  desired  to  stand  as  much  aloof  as  possible  from  Cape 
Colony,  as  well  as  to  raise  for  themselves  substantial  reve- 
nue on  imports  beyond  what  they  woidd  have  as  partners 
in  the  Customs  Union.  A  reformed  Transvaal  governnient 
would  probably  enter  the  Customs  Union  ;  and  this  would 
usher  in  the  further  question  of  a  confederation  of  all  the 
states  and  colonies  of  South  Africa.  That  project  was 
mooted  by  Sir  George  Grey  (when  Governor)  more  than 
thirty  years  ago,  and  wa«  actively  pressed  by  Lord  Carnar- 
von (when  Colonial  Secretary)  and  Sir  Bartle  Frere  between 
1875  and  1880.  It  failed  at  that  time,  partly  owing  to 
the  annoyance  of  the  Orange  Free  State  at  the  loss  of 
the  diamond-fields  in  1871,  partly  to  the  reluctance  of 
the  Dutch  party  at  the  Cape,  who  were  roused  against  the 
proposal  by  their  Transvaal  kinsfolk.  The  desire  for  it  is 
believed  to  have  moved  some  of  those  who  joined  in  the 
Uitlander  movement  of  1895-96,  and  no  one  who  discusses 
the  future  of  the  country  can  help  adverting  to  it.  The 
advantages  are  obvious.  A  confederation  would  render 
services  similar  to  those  which  the  federal  svstem  has 
rendered  in  the  United  States  and  Canada,  and  which  are 
expected  by  the  colonial  statesmen  who  are  laboring  to 
establish  such  a  system  in  Australia.  I  heard  not  only 
railways  and  finance  (including  tariff  and  currency),  but 
also  commercial  law  and  native  questions,  suggested  as 
matters  fit  to  be  intrusted  to  a  federal  authority,  while  it 
seemed  to  be  thought  that  the  scope  of  such  an  authority 
sliould,  on  the  whole,  be  narrower  than  it  is  under  the 
Canadian  Constitution,  or  under  the  United  States  Con- 


*' 


REFLECTIONS  AND  FORECASTS 


491 


stitution  as  we  sec  it  in  its  workiiio-  to-day.  The  love 
of  local  iudepenOence  is  stroiiir  in  South  Africa,  but 
mifj^ht  l)e  deferred  to  and  appeased,  as  is  being:  done  in 
Australia,  by  appropriate  constitutional  provisions.  So 
far,  no  fatal  obstacle  stands  in  the  way ;  but  a  difficulty 
has  been  thou<;^ht  to  arise  from  the  fact  tliat  whereas  Cai)C 
Colony,  Natal,  and  the  other  British  territories  are  part  of 
the  dominions  of  the  British  crown,  the  Oranji^e  Free  State 
is  an  independent  republic,  and  the  Transvaal  may  be  so 
when  federation  becomes  a  practical  issue.  "  Can  a  fcdei-al 
tie,"  it  is  asked,  "  bind  into  one  body  communities  some  of 
which  are  republics,  while  others,  though  i)ractically  self- 
governinj^,  are  legally  parts  of  a  nu)narcliy  ?" 

To  this  it  mav  be  answered  that  there  ha\  -^  been  in- 
stances  of  such  confederations.  In  the  Germanic  Confed- 
eration, which  lasted  from  ISl.")  till  ]8()(),  there  were  four 
free  republics,  as  well  as  nuxny  monaichies,  some  large, 
some  small.  The  Swiss  Coufedei-ation  (as  rei'stablished 
after  the  Napoleonic  wars)  used  to  contain,  in  the  canton 
of  Neuchatel,  a  member  whose  sovercisrn  was  the  King 
of  Prussia.  And  as  it  is  not  historically  essential  to 
the  coT^ception  of  a  federal  state  that  all  its  constituent 
communities  should  liave  the  sanu^  form  of  internal  gov- 
ernment, so  practically  it  would  be  possible,  though  not 
very  easy,  to  devise  a  scheme  which  should  recognize  the 
freedom  of  each  member  to  gi^•e  itself  the  kind  of  constitu- 
tion it  desired.  An  executive  head,  like  the  President  of 
the  United  States  or  the  Governor-General  of  Canada,  is  not 
essential  to  a  federal  svstem.  The  name  ''  confederation" 
is  a  wide  name,  and  the  things  essential  to  it  nuiy  be  secured 
in  a  great  variety  of  ways.  The  foreign  policy  of  a  South 
African  Confederation  is  perhaps  the  only  point  in  which 
any  question  could  arise  that  would  involve  considerations 


\f 


4U2 


IMPRESSIONS   OF   SOUTH  AFKIOA 


.1    \^ 


i     I 


(11 

'  1.1 


1 ;. 


jiffecLiug:  the  international  status  of  the  I'lem^cis  of  rhf 
confederation ;  and  as  to  this,  it  must  he  renieT»;i)ered  that 
the  Orange  Free  State— and  the  same  remark  wuidd  apply 
virtually  to  the  Transvaal  also— cannot  come  into  direct 
contact  with  any  foreign  power,  because  neither  has  any 
access  to  the  sea,  or  toucJies  any  non-British  territory  ex- 
cept that  of  Portugal. 

Another  remark  occui's  in  this  connection.  Tlie  senti- 
ment of  national  independence  which  the  people  of  the 
Free  State  cherisli,  and  which  may  probably  be  foiuid  in 
the  Transvaal  even  when  that  state  has  passed  from  a 
Boer  into  an  Anglo-Dutch  republic,  i,>  cai)able  of  being 
greatly  modified  by  a  better  comprehension  of  the  ample 
freedom  which  the  self-governing  colonies  of  Britain  en- 
joy. The  non-British  world  is  under  some  misconception 
in  this  matter,  and  does  not  understand  that  these  colonies 
are  practically  democratic  republics,  tliough  un.It  r  the 
protection  and  dignified  by  the  traditions  of  an  ii'iciont 
and  famous  monarchy.  Nor  has  it  been  fully  realized  tliat 
the  substantial  advantages  of  the  connection  are  rather 
with  the  colonies  than  with  the  mother  countrv.  The 
mother  country  profits,  perhaps  to  some  exto.it--though 
this  is  doul)tful — in  respect  of  trade,  but  chiefly  in  the 
sentiment  of  pride  and  the  f(;nsciousness  of  a  great  nds- 
sion  in  the  world  which  llic  po  ^,ession  of  these  vast  terri- 
tories, scattered  over  the  ■  ceans,  naturally  and  properly 
inspires.  The  colonies,  on  tin  otluT  hand,  have  not  only 
some  economic  advantages  in  the  better  financial  credit 
they  enjoy,  but  have  the  benefit  of  the  British  diplomatic 
and  consular  service  all  over  tlie  world  and  of  the  status  of 
British  citizens  in  every  foreign  country.  It  is  also  a 
political  convenience  to  them  to  be  relieved,  by  the  presence 
of  the  governor  whom  the  mother  country  sends  out  as 


'S 


KEPLilCTIUNS  AND  FORECASTS 


•193 


an  executive  figiirohf  id  of  their  ^al)iuei  system,  iVom  tli<^ 
necessity  of  elecaiig  an  exPcaLi\  e  chief,  u  convenience  %vhicli 
those  who  know  the  trouble  occasioned  by  presidential 
elections  in  the  United  States  can  best  appreciate.  And, 
above  all,  the  British  colonies  have  the  navy  of  Britain  to 
defend  thejii  ajj^ainst  molestation  by  any  forei<;'ii  jjowcr. 
It  may  be  said  that  they  have  also  the  risk  of  bciui;  in- 
volved in  any  war  into  whi(;h  Britain  nuiy  enter.  This  risk 
has,  however,  never  become  a  reality;  for  during  the  past 
eighty  years  no  colony  has  ever  been  even  threatened  with 
attack  by  a  foreign  state,  while  during  all  that  tinn;  the 
colonies  have  been  relieved  from  the  cost  and  trou])le  of 
maintaining  the  naval  and  military  armaments  wliich  are 
needed  to  insure  their  safety.  Thus,  even  leaving  sentiment 
aside,  the  balance  of  material  advantage  to  the  colonies  is 
great  and  real ;  while  their  self-goverument  is  complete,  for 
the  mother  country  never  interferes  with  any  colonial  con- 
cern, unless  in  the  rare  cases  when  the  general  rela "lions 
and  interests  of  the  whole  empire  may  })e  affected.  "^Vlien 
these  facts  ha\e  been  fully  realized  in  the  Free  State 
and  the  Transvaal,  it  may  well  be  that  those  states  will  be 
ready  to  enter  a  confederation  of  which  the  British  mon- 
archy would  be,  as  in  Canada  and  (probal)ly  before  long) 
in  Australia,  the  protecting  suzerain ;  for  there  would  be 
in  that  suzerainty  no  real  infringement  of  the  indepen- 
dence which  the  Free  State  has  so  happily  enjoyed.  It  is 
premature  to  specidate  now  on  the  best  form  which  a 
scheme  for  South  African  confederation  m  take.  All 
that  need  here  be  pointed  out  is  that  the  (.ostacles  now 
perceived  are  not  insurmountable  obstacles,  but  such  as 
may  be  overcome  by  a  fuller  knowledge  of  the  conditions 
of  the  problem,  and  by  reasonable  concessions  on  the  partof 
South  African  statesmen  in  the  different  states  concerned. 


i 


I, 


494 


BIPRKSSIONS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 


I 


It     , 


These  observations  are  made  on  the  assumption  that  the 
South  African  colonies  will  desire  to  nuiiutain  their  politi- 
cal connection  with  the  mother  country.  It  is  an  assuni})- 
tion  which  may  sately  be  made,  for  nowhere  in  the  British 
empire  is  the  attachment  to  Britain  more  sincei-e.  Strong- 
as^this  feelinj;'  is  in  Canada  and  in  Australasia,  it  is  fully 
as  strong-  in  South  Africa.  The  English  there  are  more 
English  than  are  even  the  people  of  those  other  colonics. 
The  colonial  Dutch,  warm  as  is  theii*  Africander  patriot- 
ism, have  never  been  hostile  to  the  British  crown.  And 
both  English  and  Dutch  feel  how  essential  to  tliem,  placed 
as  they  are,  is  the  protection  of  a  great  na\  al  pou  er.  Tlu\, 
have  as  near  neighbors  in  the  Soutli  Atlantic  and  Indian 
oceans  two  g)'eat  European  Powers  bent  on  colonial  ex- 
pansion, and  to  either  of  whom,  even  apart  from  colonial 
expansion,  such  a  position  as  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope 
offers  would  be  invaluable.  Both  the  mother  country, 
therefore,  and  her  South  African  children,  have  every 
motive  for  clea\dng  to  one  another,  and,  so  far  as  our  eyes 
can  pierce  the  mists  of  the  +'uturr»,  no  reason  can  be  dis- 
cerned whv  thev  should  not  continue  so  to  cleave.  The 
l)eoples  of  both  countries  are  nltogetlu^r  friendly  tc  one 
another.  But  much  will  depend  on  the  knowledge,  the 
prudence,  the  patience,  the  quiet  and  unobtrusive  tact,  of 
the  home  government. 

While  Britain  continues  to  be  a  great  naval  power,  the 
maintenance  of  her  connection  with  South  Africa  will  in- 
sure the  external  peace  of  that  country,  which,  fortunately 
for  hr  ^elf,  lies  far  away  in  the  southern  seas,  with  no  land 
frontiers  which  she  is  called  on  to  defend.  She  may  not 
gro\v  to  ba  herself  a  populous  and  powerful  state,  like  the 
Cnnauiau  <•?  the  Australian  confederations  of  the  future, 
for  her  cli.datic  conditions  are  less  favorable  to  the  in- 


REFLECTIONS  AND   FOKECASTS 


405 


crease  of  the  wliite  race ;  but  her  peopk'  may,  if  she  can 
(lejil  wisely  with  the  probk'iiis  which  the  oxisteuee  of  a  hir^'ii 
native  popuhition  raises,  become  a  happy  and  prosperous 
nation.  They  are  exempt  from  some  of  the  dangers  which 
threaten  the  industrial  communities  of  Europe  and  North 
America.  The  land  they  dwell  in  is  favored  by  nature, 
and  inspires  a  deep  love  in  its  children.  The  stock  they 
spring  from  is  strong  and  sound ;  and  they  have  carried 
with  them  to  their  new  home  the  best  traditions  of  Teu- 
tonic freedom  and  self-government. 


i 


/ 


"i 
' 


.«' 


:{  i 


II-  ft 


I  i 


n 


J  i 


APPENDIX 


CONVENTION  OF  1881 


CONVENTION  FOR  THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  TRANSVAAL 

TERRITORY 

Preamble.  Her  Majesty's  Commissioners  for  the  Settlement  of 
the  Transvaal  territory,  duly  appointed  ;is  such  by  a  Commission 
passed  under  the  Royal  Hijj^n  Manual  and  Sijjfuet,  bearing;  date 
the  oth  of  April,  1881,  do  hereby  undertake  and  f^uarantee,  on 
behalf  of  He-  ^Majesty,  that,  from  and  after  the  eighth  day  of 
Aufjust,  1881,  complete  self-government,  subject  to  the  suze- 
rainty of  Her  ^Majesty,  her  heirs  and  successors,  will  be  accorded 
to  the  inhabitants  of  the  Transvaal  territory,  upon  the  following 
terms  and  conditions,  and  subject  to  the  following  reservations 
and  limitations: 

Article  1.  The  said  territory,  to  l)e  hert  inafter  called  the 
Transvaal  State,  will  emljrace  the  land  lying  between  the  follow- 
ing boundaries,  to  wit :  [Here  follow  three  pages  in  print  defin- 
ing boundaries.] 

Article  2.  Her  Majesty  reserves  to  herself,  her  heirs  and  suc- 
cessors, (a)  the  right  from  time  to  time  to  appoint  a  British 
Resident  in  and  for  the  said  State,  with  such  duties  and  func- 
tions as  are  hereinafter  defined;  (h)  the  right  to  move  troops 
through  the  said  State  in  time  of  war,  or  in  case  of  the  appre- 
hension of  hnmediate  war  lietween  the  Suzerain  Power  and  any 
Foreign  St;  te  or  native  tribe  in  South  Africa ;  and  (c)  the  con- 
trol of  the  external  relations  of  the  said  State,  including  the 
conclusion  of  treaties  and  the  conduct  of  diplomatic  intercour.se 
32  497 


4U8 


Al'l'KNDlX 


with  Foroipri  Powers,  sudi  intcrcoursp  to  bo  carried  on  thrnuj;h 
Her  Miijcsty's  iliploiiintic  and  consular  ollicci's  abroad. 

Article  X  I'litil  altered  by  the  \'olksraad.  or  other  cojupetent 
authority,  all  laws,  whether  pa-  scd  bi'toi'<'  or  alter  the  annexaliun 
of  the  Transvaal  territory  t(»  Her  Majesty's  dominions,  shall, 
except  in  so  far  as  they  are  inconsistent  witii  or  repiiirnant  to 
the  provisions  of  this  ('<»nvention,  be  and  remain  in  lorcc  in  tlio 
said  State  in  so  far  as  tliey  shall  l)e  applicabl(>  then-to.  provided 
that  no  fntm-e  enactmt'nt  especially  .iCt'eciint,''  tin-  interests  of 
natives  shall  have  any  force  or  effect  in  the  .said  State  without 
the  consent  of  Her  Majesty,  lu'r  heii-s  and  successors,  lirst  had 
and  obtained  and  si^'nilied  to  the  (rovernnient  of  tlie  said  State 
thronf;h  the  British  Resident :  provided  further  that  in  no  case 
will  tlie  repeal  or  amendment  of  any  laws  enacted  since  the  an- 
nexation have  a  retrospective  effect,  s<»  as  to  invalidate  any  acts 
done  or  liabilities  incin-red  by  virtue  of  such  laws. 

Article  4.  On  the  eifrhth  day  of  Aufrust,  1881,  the  (Jovernment 
of  the  said  State,  together  with  all  riglits  and  oblif,'ations  thereto 
appertaining,  and  all  State  property  taken  over  at  the  time  of 
annexation,  save  and  except  nnmitions  of  war,  will  be  handed 
over  iu  Messrs.  Stephanus  Johannes  Paulus  Krtiger,  ^lartinus 
Wessel  Pretorius,  and  Petrus  Jacobus  Joubert,  or  the  survivor 
or  survivors  of  them,  who  will  forthwith  cause  a  Volksraad  to  be 
elected  and  convened,  and  the  Volksraad,  thus  elected  and  con- 
vened, will  decide  as  to  the  further  administration  of  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  said  State, 

Article  5,  All  sentences  passed  upon  persons  who  may  be 
convicted  of  offenses  contrary  to  the  rules  of  civilized  warfare 
committed  during  the  recent  hostilities  will  be  duly  carried  out, 
and  no  alteration  or  mitigation  of  such  sentences  will  be  made  or 
allowed  by  the  Government  of  the  Transva^d  State  without  Her 
Majesty's  consent  conveyed  throiigh  the  British  Resident.  In 
case  there  shall  be  any  prisoners  in  any  of  the  jails  of  the 
Transvaal  State  whose  respective  sentences  of  imprisonment 
have  been  remitted  in  part  by  Her  Majesty's  Administrator  or 
other  officer  adni'   istering  the  Government,  such  remission  will 


APPENDIX 


4'JU 


'♦ 


bo  rocopiiizcd  and  aclcd  upon  by  thf  futun-  (Jovcninunt  of  tho 
Slid  Stat*'. 

Articlf  (I.  Her  Majesty's  (lovonimcnt  will  make  duo  oonijx'n- 
satioii  fur  all  losses  or  ilainap-  sustained  by  i-cason  of  such  ads 
as  are  in  the  Kij^hth  Artiele  liereiiiafter  '  pecilied  which  may  have 
Iteen  committed  by  Her  Majesty's  forces  (hiring'  tlu-  recent  lios- 
tilitii's,  OACCpt  for  su<'h  losses  (»r  dania^'e  as  may  already  have 
been  compensated  foi-;  atid  the  (lovernnient  of  the  Transvaal 
State  will  make  due  compensation  for  all  losses  or  damajre  sus- 
tained by  reason  of  such  acts  as  are  m  the  Kij;hth  Article  herein- 
after specified  which  may  have  been  cotnmitted  by  the  peopl«» 
who  wvrv  in  arms  aj^ainst  Her  ^bljesty  tlurinjc  tl'^'  recent  h(»stil- 
ities,  except  for  such  losses  or  dania{,'e  as  may  already  liave 
been  com])ensiited  for. 

Article  7.  The  decision  of  all  claims  for  compensation,  as  in 
the  last  precediiifT  Article  mentioned,  will  be  referred  t(»  a  Sub- 
('oinnntte«>,  consisting  of  tlie  Ibmorable  (leor^'e  Hiulson.  the 
Honoral)le  Jacol)us  Petrus  de  Wet,  and  tlie  Honorable  .lohn 
(Jilbert  Kotzo.  Tn  ease  one  orm  ore  of  such  Sul)-('ommissioners 
shall  be  unable  or  unwilling  to  act,  the  remaining;  Sub-(  'otnmis- 
sioner  or  8ub-C(mimissioners  will,  after  consultation  with  the  ( lov- 
ernment  of  the  Transvaal  State,  submit  for  the  approval  of  Her 
^lajesty's  Hi^h  Commissioners  the  names  of  one  oi-  m<»re  per- 
sons to  be  appointed  V)y  them  to  fill  the  place  or  i)laces  thus 
vacated.  The  decision  of  the  sfud  Sub-Commissioners,  or  of  a 
majority  of  them,  will  be  final.  The  said  Sub-Commissioners  will 
enter  upon  and  perform  their  duties  witli  all  convenient  sjjeed. 
They  will,  before  takinpr  evidence  or  ordering?  evidence  to  })v, 
taken  in  respect  of  any  claim,  decide  whether  such  claim  can 
be  entertained  at  all  under  the  rules  laid  down  in  the  next  suc- 
ceeding Article.  In  repard  to  claims  which  can  be  so  enter- 
tained, the  Sub-Commissioners  will,  in  the  first  instance,  aft'onl 
every  faciUty  for  an  amicable  aiTanp^ement  as  to  the  amount 
payable  in  respect  of  any  claim,  and  only  in  cases  in  which  there 
IS  no  reasonable  ^'ound  for  believing  that  an  immediate  ami- 
cable arrangement  can  be  arrived  at  will  they  take  evidence  or 


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APPENDIX 


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oi'der  evidence  to  be  taken.  For  the  purpose  of  taking  e\idenco 
and  reporting  thereon,  the  Sub-Commissioners  may  appoint 
Deputies,  who  will,  without  delay,  submit  records  of  the  evi- 
dence and  their  reports  to  the  Sub-Commissioners.  The  Sub- 
Commissioners  will  arrange  their  sittings  and  the  sitting.;  of 
their  Deputies  in  such  a  manner  as  to  aiford  the  earliest  con- 
venience to  the  parties  concerned  and  their  witnesses.  In  no 
case  will  costs  be  allowed  to  either  side,  other  than  the  actual 
and  reasonable  expenses  of  witnesses  whose  evidence  is  certified 
by  the  Sub-Commissioners  to  have  been  necessary.  Interest 
will  not  run  on  the  amount  of  any  claim,  except  as  is  herein- 
after provided  for.  The  said  Sub-Commissioners  will  forthwith, 
after  deciding  upon  any  claim,  announce  their  decision  to  the 
Government  against  which  the  av>ard  is  made  and  to  the  claim- 
ant. The  amount  of  remuneration  payable  to  the  Sub-Commis- 
sioners ;ind  their  Deputies  will  be  detei'mined  l)y  the  High 
Commissioners.  After  all  the  claims  have  been  decided  ui)(>n, 
the  British  Government  and  the  Government  of  the  Transvaal 
State  will  i>ay  proportionate  shares  of  the  said  reminieration  and 
of  the  expenses  of  the  Sub-Commissioners  and  their  Deputies, 
according  to  the  amount  awarded  against  them  respectively. 

Ai'tif^le  8.  For  the  purpose  of  distinguishing  claims  to  be  ac- 
cepted from  those  to  be  rejected,  the  Sub-Commissioners  will  be 
guided  by  the  following  rules,  viz. :  Compensation  will  l)e  alloweil 
f<n'  losses  or  damage  sustained  by  reason  of  the  following  acts 
committed  during  the  recent  hostilities,  viz. :  (n)  commandeering, 
seizure,  confiscation,  or  destruction  of  property,  or  damage  done 
to  property;  (h)  violence  done  or  threats  used  by  persons  in 
arms.  In  regard  to  acts  under  (a),  compensation  will  l)e  allowed 
for  direct  losses  only.  In  regard  to  acts  falling  under  (/>),  com- 
pensation will  be  allowed  for  actual  losses  of  property,  or  actual 
injury  to  the  same  proved  to  have  been  caused  by  its  enforced 
abandonment.  No  claims  for  indirect  losses,  except  such  as  are 
in  this  Article  specially  provided  for,  will  be  entertained.  No 
claims  which  have  been  handed  in  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Royal 
Commission  after  the  first  day  of  July,  1881,  will  be  entertained, 


APPENDIX 


501 


CO 

nt 
.'i- 


unless  tlie  Sub-Commissioners  shall  be  satisfied  that  the  delay 
was  reasonable.  When  claims  for  loss  of  pi'operty  are  considered, 
the  Sub-Commissioners  will  require  distinct  proof  of  the  exis- 
tence of  the  property,  and  that  it  neither  has  reverted  nor  will 
revert  to  the  claimant. 

Article  9.  The  Government  of  the  Transvaal  State  will  pay 
and  satisfy  the  amount  of  every  claim  awarded  against  it  within 
one  month  after  the  Sub-Conunissioners  shall  have  notified  their 
decision  to  the  said  Government,  and  in  default  of  such  paynu'ut 
the  said  Government  will  pay  interest  at  the  rate  of  six  per 
cent,  per  annum  from  the  date  of  such  default ;  but  Her  Majesty's 
Government  may  at  any  time  before  such  payment  pay  the 
amount,  with  interest,  if  any,  to  the  claimant  in  siitisfaction  of 
his  claim,  and  may  add  the  sum  thus  paid  to  any  debt  which 
may  be  due  by  the  Transvaal  State  to  Her  Majesty's  Govern- 
ment, as  hereinafter  provided  for. 

Article  10.  The  Transvaal  State  will  ])e  liable  for  the  balance 
of  the  debts  for  which  the  South  African  Republic  was  liable  at 
the  date  of  annexation,  to  wit,  the  sum  of  £48,000  in  respect 
of  the  Cape  Commercial  Bank  Loan,  and  £S"),()G7  in  respect  of 
the  Railway  Loan,  together  with  the  amount  due  on  8th  August, 
1881,  on  account  of  the  Orphan  Chamber  Debt,  which  now 
stands  at  £22,200,  which  debts  will  be  a  first  charge  upon  the 
revenues  of  the  State.  The  Transvaal  State  will,  moreover,  be 
liable  for  the  lawful  expenditure  lawfully  incuiTed  for  the  neces- 
sary expenses  of  the  Province  since  the  annexation,  to  wit,  the 
sum  of  £265,000,  which  debt,  together  with  such  debts  as  may 
be  incurred  by  virtue  of  the  Ninth  Article,  will  be  second  charge 
upon  the  revenues  of  the  State. 

Article  11.  The  debts  due  as  aforesaid  by  the  Transvaal  State 
to  Her  Majesty's  Government  will  bear  interest  at  the  rate  of 
three  and  a  half  per  cent.,  and  any  portion  of  such  debt  as  may 
remain  unpaid  at  the  expiration  of  twelve  months  from  the  8th 
August,  1881,  shall  be  repayable  by  a  payment  for  interest  and 
sinking-fund  of  six  pounds  and  ninepence  per  cent,  per  annum, 
which  will  extinguish  the  debt  in  twenty-five  years.     The  said 


1 


il 


Li 


502 


APPENDIX 


K  I 


payment  of  .six  pounds  and  ninepence  per  ^100  shall  be  payable 
half-yearly  in  British  currency  on  the  8th  February  and  8th 
August  in  each  year.  Provided  always  that  the  Transvaal 
State  shall  pay  in  reduction  of  the  said  debt  the  sum  of  £  100,000 
within  twelve  months  of  the  8th  August,  1881,  and  shall  be  at 
liberty  at  the  close  of  any  half-year  to  pay  off  the  whole  or  any 
portion  of  the  outstanding  debt. 

Article  12.  All  persons  holding  property  in  the  said  State  on 
the  eighth  day  of  August,  1881,  will  continue  after  the  said  date  to 
enjoy  the  rights  of  property  which  they  have  enjoyed  since  the 
annexation.  No  person  who  has  remained  loyal  to  Her  Majesty 
during  the  recent  hostilities  shall  suffer  any  molestation  by 
reason  of  liis  loyalty,  or  be  liable  to  any  criminal  prosecution  or 
civil  action  for  any  part  taken  in  connection  with  such  hostihties, 
and  all  such  persons  will  have  full  liberty  to  reside  in  the  country, 
with  enjoyment  of  all  civil  rights,  and  protection  for  their  per- 
sons and  property. 

Article  13.  Natives  will  be  allowed  to  acquire  land,  but  the 
grant  or  transfer  of  such  land  will,  in  every  case,  be  made  to 
and  registered  in  the  name  of  the  Native  Location  Commission, 
hereinafter  mentioned,  in  trust  for  such  natives. 

Article  14.  Natives  will  be  allowed  to  move  as  freely  within 
the  countrj'  as  may  be  consistent  with  the  requirements  of  pub- 
lic order,  and  to  leave  it  for  the  puipose  of  seeking  employment 
elsewhere  or  for  other  lawful  purposes,  subject  always  to  the 
pass  laws  of  the  said  State,  as  amended  by  the  Legislature  of 
the  Province,  or  as  may  hereafter  be  enacted  under  the  provi- 
sions of  the  Third  Article  of  this  Convention. 

Article  15.  There  will  continue  to  be  complete  freedom  of 
religion  and  protection  from  molestation  for  all  denominations, 
provided  the  same  be  not  inconsistent  with  morality  and  good 
order,  and  no  disability  shall  attach  to  any  person  in  regard  to 
rights  of  property  by  reason  of  the  religious  opinions  which  he 
holds. 

Article  16.  The  provisions  of  the  Fourth  Article  of  the  Sand 
River  Convention  are  hereby  reaffirmed,  and  no   slavery  or 


APlr.NDIX 


503 


apprenticeship  partaking  of  slavery  will  be  tolerated  by  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  said  State. 

Article  17.  The  British  Resident  will  receive  from  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  Transvaal  State  such  asi^istance  and  support  as  can 
Vjy  law  be  jriven  to  him  for  the  due  discharge  of  his  functions ; 
he  will  also  receive  every  assistance  for  the  proper  care  and 
preservation  of  the  graves  of  such  of  Her  Majesty's  forces  as 
have  died  in  the  Transvaal,  and  if  need  be  for  the  expropriation 
of  land  for  the  purpose. 

Article  18.  The  following  will  be  the  duties  and  functions  of 
the  British  Resident: 

Subsection  1.  He  will  perform  duties  and  functions  analogous 
to  those  discharged  by  a  Charge  d' Affaires  and  Consul-General. 

Subsection  2.  In  regard  to  natives  within  the  Transvaal  State, 
he  will  («)  report  to  the  High  Commissioner,  as  representative  of 
the  Suzerain,  as  to  the  working  and  observance  of  the  provisions 
of  this  Convention  J  {b)  report  to  the  Transvaal  authorities  any 
cases  of  ill-treatment  of  natives  or  attempts  to  incite  natives  to 
rebellion  that  may  come  to  his  knowledge ;  (c)  use  liis  influence 
with  the  natives  in  favor  of  law  and  order  j  and  {d)  generally 
perform  such  other  duties  as  are  by  this  Convention  intrusted 
to  him,  and  take  such  steps  for  the  protection  of  the  person 
and  property  of  natives  as  are  consistent  with  the  laws  of  the 
land. 

Subsection  3.  In  regard  to  natives  not  residing  in  the  Trans- 
vaal, (a)  he  will  report  to  the  High  Commissioner  and  the  Trans- 
vaal Government  any  encroachments  reported  to  him  as  having 
been  made  by  Transvaal  residents  upon  the  land  of  such  natives, 
and  in  case  of  disagreement  between  the  Transvaal  Government 
and  the  British  Resident  as  to  whether  an  encroachment  has  been 
made,  the  decision  of  the  Suzerain  will  be  final;  (b)  the  British 
Resident  will  be  the  medium  of  communication  with  native 
chiefs  outside  the  Transvaal,  and,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the 
High  Commissioner,  as  representing  the  Suzerain,  he  will  control 
the  conclusion  of  treaties  with  them;  and  (c)  he  will  arbitrate 
upon  every  dispute  between  Transvaal  residents  and  natives 


i\ 


i|  It' 


>04 


APPENDIX 


outside  the  'i  -ansvaal  (as  to  acts  cominitted  beyond  the  boun- 
daries of  the  Transvaal)  which  may  be  ret'eiTed  to  him  by  the 
partic^s  interested. 

Subsection  4.  In  repird  to  communications  with  foreijfn 
powers,  the  Transvaal  Government  will  correspond  with  Her 
Majesty's  Government  through  the  British  Resident  and  the 
High  Commissioner, 

Article  19.  The  Government  of  the  Transvaal  State  will 
strictly  adhere  to  the  boundaries  defined  in  the  First  Article  of 
this  Convention,  and  will  do  its  utmost  to  prevent  any  of  its 
'Mhabitants  from  niaking  any  encroachment  upon  lands  beyond 
the  said  State.  The  Royal  Commission  will  forthwith  appoint  a 
person  who  will  beacon  oft'  the  boundary-line  between  Ramatla- 
bama  and  the  point  where  such  line  first  touches  Griijualand 
West  boundary,  midway  between  the  Vaal  and  Hart  rivers;  the 
person  so  appointed  will  be  instructed  to  make  an  arrangement 
between  the  owners  of  the  farms  Grootfontein  and  Valleifontein 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Barolong  aut.  orities  on  the  other,  l)y 
which  a  fair  share  of  the  water-supply  of  the  said  farms  shall 
be  allowed  to  flow  undisturl)ed  to  the  said  Barolongs. 

Article  20.  All  gi-ants  or  titles  issiunl  at  any  time  by  the 
Transvaal  Goveniment  in  respect  of  land  outside  the  ])oundary 
of  Transvaal  State,  as  defined,  Article  1,  shall  be  considered  in- 
valid and  of  no  effect,  except  in  so  far  as  any  such  gi-ant  or  title 
relates  to  land  that  falls  within  the  boundary  of  the  Transvaal 
State,  and  all  persons  holding  any  such  grant  so  consid«?red  in- 
valid and  of  no  effect  will  receive  from  the  Government  of  the 
Ti'ansvaal  State  such  compensation  either  in  land  or  in  money 
as  the  Volksi'aad  shall  detennine.  In  all  cases  in  which  any 
native  chiefs  or  other  authorities  outside  the  said  boundaries 
have  received  any  adequate  consideration  from  the  Government 
of  the  former  South  African  Republic  for  land  excluded  from 
the  Transvaal  by  the  First  Article  of  this  Convention,  or  where 
permanent  improvements  have  been  made  on  the  land,  the 
British  Resident  will,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  High  Com- 
missioner, use  his  influeLiCe  to  recover  from  the  native  authorities 


APPENDIX 


505 


fair  compensation  for  the  loss  of  the  land  thus  excluded,  and  of 
the  permanent  improvement  thereon. 

Article  21.  Forthwith,  after  the  takinfr  effect  of  this  Convi'u- 
tion,  a  Native  Location  Connnission  will  be  constituted,  consist- 
infj;  of  the  President,  or  in  his  absence  the  Vice-President  of  the 
State,  or  some  one  deputed  by  him,  the  Kesident,  oi-  some  one 
deputed  by  him,  and  a  tiiird  pei'son  to  be  ap-eed  upon  by  the 
President  or  the  Vice-President,  as  the  case  may  be,  ami  the 
Resident,  and  such  Connnission  will  be  a  standing;  body  for  the 
performance  of  the  duties  hereinafter  mentioned. 

Article  22.  The  Native  Location  Connnission  will  reserve  to 
the  native  tribes  of  the  State  such  locations  as  they  may  be  fairly 
and  equitably  entitled  to,  due  rejrard  beinjf  had  to  the  actual 
occupation  of  such  tribes.  The  Nati\e  Location  Connnission 
will  clearly  define  the  boundaries  of  such  locations,  and  for  that 
pui-pose  will,  in  every  instance,  first  of  all  ascertain  the  wishes 
of  the  parties  interested  in  such  land.  In  case  land  already 
granted  in  individual  titles  shall  be  retiuired  for  the  purpose  of 
any  location,  the  owners  will  receive  such  compensjition,  either  in 
other  land  or  m  money,  as  the  Volksraad  shall  determine.  After 
the  boundaries  of  any  location  have  been  fixed,  no  fresh  fjrant 
of  land  within  such  location  will  be  made,  nor  will  the  boundaries 
be  altered  without  the  consent  of  the  Location  Commission.  No 
fresh  g^-ants  of  land  will  be  made  in  the  districts  of  Waterberg, 
Zoutspansberg,  and  Lydenburg  until  the  locations  in  the  said 
districts  respectively  shall  have  been  defined  by  the  sfiid  Com- 
mission. 

Article  23.  If  not  released  before  the  taking  effect  of  this 
Convention,  Sikukuni,  and  those  of  his  followers  who  have  been 
imprisoned  with  him,  will  be  forthwith  released,  and  the  boun- 
daries of  his  location  will  be  defined  by  the  Native  Location  Com- 
mission in  the  manner  indicated  in  the  last  preceding  Article. 

Article  24.  The  independence  of  the  Swazis  within  the 
boundary-line  of  Swaziland,  as  indicated  in  the  First  Article 
of  this  Convention,  will  be  fully  recognized. 

Article  25.  No  other  or  liigher  duties  will  be  imposed  on  the 


i\ 


() 


506 


APPENDIX 


'i: 


importaHon  into  the  Transvaal  State  of  any  article  the  produce 
or  manufacture  of  the  (loininions  and  possessions  of  Her  Majesty, 
from  whatever  place  aniving,  than  are  or  may  be  payahU*  on 
the  like  article  the  produce  or  manufacture  of  any  other  counti-y, 
nor  will  any  prohi))ition  be  maintained  or  imposed  on  the  im- 
portation of  any  article  the  produce  or  manid'actui-e  of  the 
dominions  and  j)Ossessions  of  Her  Majesty  which  shall  not 
equally  extend  to  the  importation  of  the  like  articles  being  the 
produce  or  manufacture  of  any  othei*  country. 

Article  20.  All  persons  other  than  natives  conforming  them- 
selves to  the  laws  of  the  Transvaal  State  (a)  will  have  full  lil.ei-ty 
with  their  families  to  enter,  travel,  or  reside  in  any  part  of  the 
Transvaal  State;  {h)  they  will  be  entitled  to  hire  or  possess 
houses,  manufactori(?s,  warehouses,  shops,  and  premises ;  (c)  they 
may  carry  on  their  commerce  either  in  person  or  )iy  any  agents 
whom  they  may  think  fit  to  employ;  (d)  they  will  not  ])e  subject 
in  respect  of  their  persons  or  property,  or  in  respect  (►f  their 
commerce  or  industry,  to  any  tax«^s,  whether  general  or  local, 
other  than  those  which  are  or  r  .  *?  imposed  upon  Transvaal 
citizens 

Article  27.  All  inhabitants  of  the  Transvaal  shall  have  free 
access  to  the  Courts  of  Justice  for  the  protection  and  defense  of 
their  rights. 

Article  28.  All  persons  other  than  natives  who  established 
their  domicile  in  the  Transvaal  between  the  twelfth  day  of  April, 
1877,  and  the  date  when  this  Convention  comes  into  effect,  and 
who  shall  within  twelve  months  after  such  last-mentioned  date 
have  their  names  registered  by  the  British  Resident,  shall  be 
exempt  from  all  compulsory  military  service  whatever.  The 
Resident  shall  notify  such  registration  to  the  Government  of  the 
Transvaal  State. 

Article  29.  Provision  shall  hereafter  be  made  by  a  separate 
instrument  for  the  mutual  extradition  of  criminals,  and  also  tor 
the  surrender  of  deserters  from  Her  Majesty's  forces. 

Article  30.  All  debts  contracted  since  the  annexation  will  be 
payable  in  the  same  currency  in  which  they  may  have  been  con- 


APPENDIX 


r>07 


traoicd;  all  uncanceled  postap^e  and  other  revenue  stamps  issu«'d 
by  tlu*  (Toverunient  sinoe  tlie  annexation  will  remain  valid,  and 
will  be  accepted  at  their  present  value  by  the  future  (lovcrn- 
ment  of  the  State;  all  licenses  duly  issued  since  the  annexation 
will  remain  in  force  durinjr  the  period  for  which  they  may  have 
been  issued. 

Article  31.  No  ^'ants  of  land  which  may  have  ))een  made,  and 
no  transfer  of  mortgage  which  may  have  been  passed  since  the 
annexation,  will  be  invalidated  by  reason  merely  of  their  having 
been  made  or  passed  since  that  date.  All  transfers  to  the  British 
Secretary  for  Native  Affairs  in  trust  for  natives  will  remain  in 
force,  the  Native  Location  Connnissiou  taking  the  place  of  such 
Secretary  for  Native  Affairs. 

Article  32.  This  Convention  will  be  ratified  by  a  newly  elected 
Volksraad  within  the  period  of  three  months  after  its  execution, 
and  in  default  of  such  ratification  this  Convention  shall  be  null 
and  void. 

Article  33.  Forthwith,  after  the  ratification  of  this  Convention, 
as  in  the  last  preceding  Article  mentioned,  all  British  troops  in 
Transvaal  territory  will  leave  the  same,  and  the  mutual  delivery 
of  munitions  of  war  will  be  carried  out.  Articles  end.  Here 
will  follow  signatures  of  Royal  Commissioners,  then  the  follow- 
ing to  precede  signatures  of  triumvirate. 

We,  the  undersigned,  Stephanus  Johannes  Paulus  Kruger, 
Martinus  Wessel  Pretorius,  and  Petrus  Jacobus  Joubert,  as 
representatives  of  the  Transvaal  Burghers,  do  hereby  agree  to 
all  the  above  conditions,  reservations,  and  limitations  under 
which  self-government  has  been  restored  to  the  inhabitcants  of 
the  Transvaal  territory,  subject  to  the  suzerainty  of  Her  Majesty, 
her  heirs  and  successors,  and  we  agree  to  accept  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  said  territory,  with  all  rights  and  obligations  thereto 
appertaining  on  the  eighth  day  of  August ;  and  we  promise  and 
undei-take  that  this  Convention  shall  be  ratified  by  a  newly 
elected  Volksraad  of  the  Transvaal  State  within  three  months 
from  tliis  date. 


(I 


'.I 


CONVENTION  OF    1884 


.1; 


i;> 


A  CONVENTION  BETWEEN  HER  MAJESTY  THE  QUEEN  OF  THE 

UNITED  KINGDOM  OF  GREAT  BKITAIN  AND  IRELAND 

AND  THE  SOUTH  AFRICAN  REPUBLIC 

Whkkeas,  The  Government  of  the  Transvuul  State,  through  its 
Delegrates,  eonsisang  of  Stephanas  Johannes  I'auhis  Kruger, 
President  of  the  said  State,  Stephanas  Jaeobas  Du  Toit,  Super- 
intendent of  Education,  and  Nichohis  Jacobus  Sniit,  a  member  of 
the  Volksraad,  have  represented  that  the  Convention  signed  at 
Pretoi-ia  on  the  third  day  of  August,  1881,  and  ratified  by  tlie 
Volksraad  of  tlie  said  State  on  the  'Joth  Octol)er,  1881,  contains 
certain  provisions  Avhich  are  inconvenient,  and  imposes  burdens 
and  obligations  from  which  the  said  State  is  desinms  to  be 
relieved,  and  that  tlie  southwestern  boundaries  lixed  by  the 
said  Convention  should  be  amended,  with  a  view  to  promote  the 
peace  and  good  order  of  the  said  State,  and  of  the  countries 
adjacent  thereto;  and  Whereas,  Her  Majesty  the  Queen  of  the 
United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  has  been  pleased 
to  take  the  said  representations  into  consideration :  Now,  there- 
fore. Her  Majesty  has  been  pleased  to  direct,  and  it  is  hereby 
declared,  that  the  following  articles  of  a  new  Convention,  signed 
on  behalf  of  Her  Majesty  by  Her  Majesty's  High  Commissioner 
in  South  Africa,  the  Right  Honorable  Sir  Hercules  George 
Robert  Robinson,  Knight  Grand  Cress  of  the  Most  Distinguished 
Order  of  Saint  Michael  and  Saint  George,  Governor  of  the 
Colony  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  on  behalf  of  the  Trans- 
vaal State  (which  shall  hereinafter  be  called  the  South  African 
Republic)  by  the  above-named  Delegates,  Stephanus  Johannes 
Paulus   Kruger,   Stephanus  Jacobus   Du  Toit,   and   Nicholas 

508 


Al'l'KNDlX 


509 


Jaooy)us  Smit,  shall,  when  nitifiod  hy  the  Volksrmul  of  tho 
South  Africun  Republic',  la*  substituted  for  the  articles  embodied 
in  tho  Convention  of  ;{d  Aujfust,  IHSI  ;  whieh  latter,  pendinj^ 
such  ratitioation,  shall  continue  in  full  force  and  effect. 

AUTICLKS 

Article  1.  The  Temtorj'  of  the  South  African  Repul)lio  will 
embrace  the  land  lyin^  between  the  followinjjr  boundaries,  to 
wit:  (Here  foUows  a  lony  description  of  bounihiries.) 

Artich^  2.  The  Ciovernment  of  the  South  African  Hepublic  will 
strictly  adhere  to  tho  boundaries  defined  in  the  First  Article  of 
this  Convention,  and  will  do  its  utmost  to  prevent  any  of  its 
inhabitants  from  making  any  encroaclnnents  upon  lands  beyond 
the  said  boundaries.  The  Government  of  the  South  ^Ifrican 
Ke|»ublic  will  appoint  Conunissioners  u\um  the  east«'rn  nnd 
western  borders  whose  duty  it  will  be  strictly  to  j;uard  a^'ainst 
irregularities  and  all  tn's^  issinj;  over  the  l><>ufidaries.  Iler 
Majesty's  Government  will,  if  necessiiry,  ai)p()int  Connnission«'rs 
in  the  native  territories  outsi(U>  the  eastern  and  western  boi-ders 
of  the  South  African  Republic  to  n)aintain  order  and  prevent 
encroachments. 

Her  ^lajesty's  (loverinnent  and  the  (Jovennnent  of  the  South 
African  Republic  will  each  appoint  a  person  to  proceed  to^etlu-r 
to  beacon  off  the  amended  southwest  l>ouiulary  as  descriljcd  in 
Article  1  of  this  Convention;  and  the  President  of  the  Orange 
Free  State  shall  be  re([uested  to  appoint  a  referee  to  whom  the 
.said  persons  shall  refer  any  (juestions  on  which  they  may  dis- 
afjrree  respectinj?  the  interpi'etation  of  the  said  Article,  and  the 
decision  of  such  referee  thereon  shall  be  final.  The  aiTantre- 
ment  already  made,  undt'r  the  terms  of  Article  19  of  the  Con- 
vention of  Pretoria  of  the  3d  Aujrust,  1881,  ])etween  tlu;  owners 
of  the  farms  Grootfontein  and  Valleifontein  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  Barolong:  authorities  on  the  other,  by  which  a  fair  share 
of  the  water-supply  of  the  said  farms  shall  ])e  allowed  to  flow 
undisturbed  to  the  said  Barolonjfs,  shall  continue  in  force. 

Article  3.  If  a  British  officer  is  appointed  to  reside  at  Pretoria 


(s 


m 


510 


APPENDIX 


or  clHcwhore  within  tho  South  Africnn  RopubHo  to  dischnrj^o 
fun('ti(»ns  analoj,'(tus  t«»  thosi*  ol'  u  ('(»iisular  othi'er,  he  will  rt'ct-ive 
tlu'  i»rott'('tioTi  niul  u.ssistuiH'c  of  tin-  Krpuhlic. 

Article  4.  Tlu'  South  African  Ki'pul)lic  will  conclude  no  treaty 
or  enfjuf^enient  with  any  State  or  nation  other  than  the  Uran^'e 
Free  State,  nor  with  any  native  tribe  to  tlie  eastward  or  west- 
ward of  the  Republic,  until  the  same  has  been  approvetl  by  Her 
Majesty  the  (^uet'ii. 

Such  approval  shall  be  considered  to  have  been  f^ranted  if 
Her  Majesty's  (.Jovernnient  shall  not,  within  six  months  after 
receivinjf  a  copy  of  such  treaty  (which  sliall  be  <lelivered  to 
them  immediately  upon  its  completion),  have  notifie<l  that  the 
<'onclusion  of  such  treaty  is  in  conflict  with  tli"  interests  of 
(Jreat  Britain  or  of  any  of  Her  Majt^sty's  possessions  in  South 
Africa. 

Article*  f).  Tlie  South  African  Republic  will  be  liable  for  any 
balance  wliich  may  still  remain  due  of  the  debts  for  which  it 
was  liable  at  the  <hite  of  Annexation,  to  wit,  the  Cape  Com- 
mercial Bank  Loan,  the  Railway  Loan,  an<l  the  Orphan  Chamber 
DeV)t,  which  debts  will  be  a  first  charge  upon  the  revenues  of 
the  Republic.  The  South  African  Republic  will,  moreover,  be 
liable  to  Her  Majesty's  Government  ft>r  £250,000,  which  will  be 
a  second  charge  upon  the  revenues  of  the  Republic. 

Article  6.  The  debt  due  as  aforesaid  by  the  South  African 
Republic  to  Her  Majesty's  Government  will  bear  interest  at 
the  rate  of  three  and  a  half  per  cent,  from  the  date  of  the  ratifi- 
cation of  this  Convention,  and  shall  be  repayable  by  a  payment 
for  interest  and  Sinking-Fund  of  six  pounds  and  ninepence  per 
£100  per  annum,  which  will  extinguish  the  debt  in  twenty-five 
years.  The  said  payment  of  six  pounds  and  ninepence  per  £100 
shall  be  payable  half-yearly,  in  British  currency,  at  the  close  of 
each  half-year  from  the  date  of  such  ratification:  Provided 
always  that  the  South  African  Republic  shall  be  at  liberty  at  the 
close  of  any  half-year  to  pay  off  the  whole  or  any  portion  of  the 
outstanding  debt. 

Interest  at  the  rate  of  three  and  a  half  per  cent,  on  the  debt 


AIM'KNDIX 


.■.11 


as  stmulin^r  uiulcr  the  Convention  of  I*r»'toria  shnll  ns  lifrrtofore 
bi'  puid  to  the  (hito  of  the  rutiliniti(»n  of  this  Convn.tion. 

Article  7.  All  persons  who  held  property  in  the  Transviial  on 
the  ei^rhth  (hiy  of  Anpist,  KSHl,  und  still  hold  tlu'  same,  will 
eontinue  t(»  enjoy  the  ri^dits  of  propeily  whieh  they  have  en- 
joyed since  the  I'Jth  April,  1877.  No  person  who  has  remained 
loyal  to  Her  Majesty  <lnrinf,'  the  hitv  hostilities  shall  sntTer  any 
molestation  by  reason  of  his  loyalty,  or  he  liable  to  any  criminal 
prosecntion  or  civil  action  for  any  part  takt-n  in  connection  with 
such  hostilities;  and  all  snch  persons  will  have  fnll  liberty  to 
reside  in  the  country,  with  enjoyment  of  all  civil  rij;hts,  and 
protection  for  their  persons  and  property. 

Article  8.  The  South  African  Kepublic  renews  th(i  declaration 
tnade  in  the  Sand  Uiver  Convention,  and  in  the  Convention  of 
Pretoria,  that  no  slavery  or  apprenticeship  partakinj;  of  slavery 
will  be  tolerated  by  th«'  (lovernnu'nt  of  the  .said  Hepublic, 

Article  0.  There  will  continue  to  be  ('onij)lete  freedom  of 
reli^on  and  protection  from  moh'station  f(^r  all  denominations, 
provided  the  .same  be  not  inconsistent  with  morality  and  jjood 
order;  and  no  disability  shall  attach  to  any  person  in  rejjard  to 
rijjhts  of  property  by  reason  of  the  reliffious  opinions  which  he 
holds. 

Article  10.  The  British  Officer  appointed  '^  reside  in  the 
South  African  Republic  will  receive  every  assistance  from  the 
Government  of  the  said  Republic  in  making?  due  provision  for 
the  proper  care  and  preservation  of  the  jfraves  of  such  of  Her 
Majesty's  Forces  as  have  died  in  the  Transvaal ;  and  if  need  be, 
for  the  appropriation  of  land  for  the  purpose. 

Article  11.  All  grants  or  titles  issued  at  any  time  by  the 
Transvaal  Government  in  respect  of  land  outside  the  boundary 
of  the  South  African  Republic,  as  defined  in  Article  1,  shall  be 
considered  invalid  and  of  no  effect,  except  in  so  far  as  any  such 
grant  or  title  relates  to  land  that  falls  within  the  boundary  of  the 
South  Afiican  Republic ;  and  all  persons  holding  any  such  grant 
so  considered  invalid  and  of  no  effect  will  receive  from  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  South  African  Republic  such  compensation, 


I 


512 


APPENDIX 


either  in  land  or  in  money,  as  the  Volksraad  shall  determine.  In 
all  cases  in  which  any  Native  Chiefs  or  other  authorities  outside 
the  spid  boundaries  have  received  any  adequate  consideration 
from  the  (Tovernment  of  the  South  African  Republic  for  land 
excluded  from  the  Transvaal  by  the  First  Article  of  this  Conven- 
tion, or  where  permanent  improvements  have  been  made  on  the 
land,  the  Hifjfh  Commissioner  will  recover  from  the  native 
authorities  fair  compensation  for  the  loss  of  the  land  thus  ex- 
cluded, or  of  the  permanent  improvements  thereon. 

Article  12.  The  independence  of  the  Swazis  within  the 
boundary-line  of  Swaziland,  as  indicated  in  the  First  Article 
of  this  Convention,  will  be  fully  recog.iized. 

Article  Hi.  Except  in  pursuance  of  any  treaty  or  engagement 
made  as  pi'ovided  ni  Article  4  of  this  Convention,  no  other  or 
higher  diitios  shall  be  imposed  on  the  importation  into  the  South 
African  Republic  of  any  article  coming  from  any  part  of  Her 
Majesty's  dominions  than  are  or  may  be  imposed  on  the  like 
article  coming  from  any  other  place  or  country;  nor  will  any 
prohibition  be  maintained  or  imposed  on  the  importation  into  the 
South  African  Republic  of  any  article  coming  from  any  part  of 
Her  Majesty's  dominions  which  shall  not  equally  extend  to  the 
like  article  coming  from  any  other  plh'^o  or  country.  And  in 
like  manner  the  same  treatment  shall  be  given  to  any  article 
coming  to  Great  Britain  from  the  South  African  Republic  as  to 
the  like  article  coming  from  any  other  place  or  countiy. 

These  provisions  do  not  preclude  the  consideration  of  special 
arrangements  as  to  ir.iport  duties  and  commercial  relations  be- 
tween the  South  African  Republic  and  any  of  Her  Majesty's 
colonies  or  possessions. 

Article  14.  All  persons,  other  than  natives,  conforming  them- 
selves to  ilie  laws  of  the  South  African  Republic  (a)  will  have 
full  liberty,  with  their  families,  to  enter,  travel,  or  reside  in  any 
part  of  the  South  African  Republic;  (h)  they  ^vill  be  entitled  to 
hu'e  or  possess  houses,  manufactories,  warehouses,  shops,  and 
premises ;  (c)  they  may  cany  on  their  commerce  either  in  person 
or  by  any  agents  whom  they  may  think  fit  to  employ ;  {d)  they 


Al^PENDIX 


5i;j 


will  not  be  subject,  in  respect  of  their  persons  or  property,  or  in 
respect  of  their  commerce  or  industry,  to  any  taxes,  win^ther 
jreneral  or  local,  other  than  those  which  are  or  may  be  imposed 
upon  citizens  of  the  said  Kepublic. 

Article  15.  All  persons,  other  than  natives,  who  established 
then*  domicile  in  the  Transvaal  between  the  twelfth  day  of  April, 
1877,  and  the  8th  of  August,  1881,  and  who  within  twelve 
months  after  such  last-mentioned  dj.te  have  had  their  names 
registered  l)y  the  British  Resident,  shall  be  exempt  from  all  com- 
pulsory military  service  whatever. 

Article  l(i.  Provision  shall  hereafter  be  made  by  a  separate 
instrument  for  the  nuitual  extradition  of  criminals,  and  also  for 
the  surrender  of  desei-ters  from  Her  Majesty's  Forces. 

Article  17.  All  debts  contracted  ))etween  the  I'Jth  Ai)ril,  1877, 
and  the  8th  August,  1881,  will  be  payable  in  the  same  currency 
in  which  thf\v  may  have  been  cf>ntracted. 

Article  1 8.  No  gi'ants  of  land  which  may  have  been  made,  and 
no  transfers  or  moi-tgages  which  may  liave  l)een  passed,  l)etween 
the  12th  April,  1877,  and  the  8th  August,  1881,  will  be  invalidate<l 
by  reason  merely  of  their  having  l)een  made  or  passed  between 
such  dates. 

All  transfers  to  the  British  Secretary  for  Native  Affairs  in 
trust  for  natives  will  remahi  in  force,  an  officer  of  the  South 
African  Republic  taking  the  place  of  such  Secretary  for  Native 
Affairs. 

Article  19.  The  Government  of  the  South  African  Republic 
will  engage  faitlifully  to  fulfil  the  assurances  given,  in  accordance 
with  the  laws  of  the  Soutli  African  Republic,  to  the  natives  at 
the  Pretoria  Pitso  by  the  Royal  Conunission  in  tlu^  presence  of 
the  Ti'iumvirate  and  with  their  entin^  assent,  (1)  as  to  the  free- 
dom of  llie  natives  to  buy  or  otherwise  acquire  land  under  cer- 
tain conditions,  (2)  as  to  the  appointment  of  a  conunission  to 
mark  out  native  locations,  (3)  as  to  the  access  of  the  natives  to 
tlie  courts  of  law,  and  (4)  as  to  their  being  allowed  to  move  freely 
within  the  country,  or  to  leave  it  for  any  legal  purpose  under  a 
pass  system. 

33 


it 


.14 


APPENDIX 


P   : 


f 


I 


Article  20.  This  Convention  will  be  ratified  by  a  Volksraad  of 
the  South  African  Repul>li<*  within  the  period  of  six  months  after 
its  execution,  and  in  default  of  such  ratification  this  Convention 
shall  })e  null  and  void. 

Sij?ned  in  duplicate  in  London  this  twenty-seventh  day  of 
February,  1884. 

(Signed) 

(Sijrned) 

(Sijrned) 

(Siyiied) 


Hkrcules  Robixson. 
S.  -J.  P.  Kruger. 
S.  J.  Du  ToiT. 

M.    J.    S.MIT. 


r 


i 


h  f 


INDEX 


Africander,  106. 
At'i'icandt  r  Bond,  416. 
Ajiricultiual  products,  4.50. 
Aniericuns  in  the  Traiisviial,  430. 
Animals,  wild,  16-22,  IM),  271. 
Antelopes,  17,  20. 
Antiquities,  237,  255-258. 
Ants,  262. 
Australian  trees,  29,  30. 

Bamanuwato,  91,  214. 

Basutoland,  3,  51,  :J31-348. 

Biisutos,  85,  132, 147.  350-356. 

Bechuanaland,  40,  170,  208,  211-220. 

Beehuanas,  87,  219. 

Beira,  184,  278. 

Berea,  293. 

Bloemfonteiii,  131,  134,  325. 

Boers,  56,  113,  118,  120,  124,  127-129,  154, 
158,  109,  302,  420,  435,  443,  473. 

Brand,  Sir  John,  328. 

British  srovernnient,  110,  112,  123,  130, 
133,  139,143,  160, 163,  1()7,  170,  477-4H2. 

British  South  Africa  Company,  175,  226, 
289,  439. 

British  South  Africa  Company's  terri- 
tory, 40,  279-289. 

Bulawayo,  223. 

liursers  (President),  157. 

Busiimen,  85,  107,  108,  343. 

Caledon  River,  347,  349. 

Cape  Colony  (physical  aspects),  32,  137. 

Cape  of  Good  Hope,  197. 

Cape  Town,  24.  50, 195. 

Cathcart,  Sir  George,  347. 

Cetewayo,  85,  153,  158. 

Cliiinoyo,  267. 

Churclics,  404,  412. 

Climate,  6,  7,  11, 12,  35,  45,  241,  281. 

Coaches,  189. 

CoUey,  (Jeneral  Sir  Georjie,  163,  303. 

C'Monial  policy,  review  of,  478-482. 

Colonies  of  Britain,  492. 

C(dor  in  South  African  landscapes,  53, 

261. 
Color  question,  358,  413,  484. 

.11 


Confederation  (of  South  Africa),  151,  490. 
Constitution,  of   Natal,  295 ;  of  ()ran«e 

Free  state,  327  ;   of  (Jape  Colony,  407- 

409  ;  <jf  Traiisvnal,  424,  425. 
Convention  of  Loudon,  171. 
Crocodile,  19,  211.  275. 
Crown  colonies,  360. 
Customs  Union,  489. 

Damaraland,  36, 175. 

Delasroa  Bay,  119,  1.50,  184,291,  418. 

Dhloiihlo,  (■)9-73,  234,  237. 

Diauicind-mines,  203-205,  454. 

Diaz,  Bartludomew,  ',)9. 

DiiiKaaii,  84,  117,  121. 

Din^iswayo,  83. 

DouKas,  190,  267. 

Drakenshcr^;  or  Quathlaniba  Moun- 
tains, 3. 

Durl.an,  121,  292. 

Dutch,  4(1,  l(n.  Ill,  143,  167,  366,  394. 

Dutch  East  iiidia  Company,  104,  108, 
109. 

Education,  402. 
Elandsfonteii,,  307. 
Elephant,  18. 

Fever,  12-14,  270. 

Flora,  of  South  Africa,  23-25  ;  of  Miluti 

Mountains,  339. 
Fontesvilla,  272. 
Forests,  25. 
Frero,  Sir  Bartle,  153, 166,  349. 

Gama,  Vasco  da,  99,  291. 

Geology,  5. 

Geruian  Southwest  Africa,  36,  174. 

Germans,  105,  112,  138. 

Ghost-worship,  iK),  257,  35.5,  39i. 

Gold-mine.s,   263,   2H1,  308-314,  429,  455, 

486. 
Grass-flrea,  238. 
Griquas,  130,  148. 
Groiidwet,  156,  371,  424,  426. 
Gungunhana,  85,  386. 
Gwelo,  240. 


(I 


,")](> 


INDEX 


Health,  10-15. 
Heat,  0, 10. 
Heaths,  24,  .3.39. 
HippupotumtiB.  19,  276. 
Hollanders,  427,  436. 
Horses,  21'J,  259,  338. 
Hottentots,  106,  114, 116. 
Huguenot  immigrants,  104. 

Immigration,  464. 
Indians,  249,  293,  298,  363. 
Inyant;a,  80,  2(i4. 

Johannesl>urg,  180,  315-319,  423,  439. 

Kafirs,  86-97,  108,  113,  138,  144,  266,  375, 

3H0-3ft3,  476,  483. 
Kalahari  Desert,  21, 175. 
Karroo,  6,  24,  33,  200. 
Khama,  170,  215-218,  368. 
Kiniberley,  148,  201-207. 
Kruger,  H.  J.  P.,  118,  159, 163,  169,  171, 

179,  321,  427,  438. 

Lainir's  Nek,  164,  302. 

Language,  397. 

Laws  relating  to  natives,  369-372. 

Leopartl,  18. 

Lerothoili,  335,  351. 

Limpopo  River,  8,  211. 

Lion.  17,220. 

Livingstone,  David,  47, 157. 

Lo  Uengula,  85,  175,  177,  223. 

Locusts,  237,  266,  270. 

Lovedale,  388. 

Liideritz,  174. 

Machacha,  338,  340,  341. 

Mafeking,  208. 

Majuba  Hill,  164,  302,  303. 

Makalangaor  Makalaka,  82,  226,246,  287. 

Maluti  Mountains,  332,  337. 

Mangwe  Pass,  220. 

Maniualand,  282. 

Manufactures,  459. 

Mashonaland,  40,  55,  177,  227,  251,  280. 

Massikesai,  266. 

Matabili,  84, 119,  178,  217,  224,  234,  247. 

Matiibililand,  40,  55,  280. 

Matoppo  Hills,  220,  2S8. 

Missionaries,  114,  126, 140,  347,  354,  iSO- 

392. 
Moiimo  or  Mlimo,  91,  93. 
Monomotapa,  82. 
Montsion,  209. 
Morija,  334. 

Moshesli,  125,  131,  147,  346. 
Mosilikatze,  119.  217,  223,  386. 
Mtali,  261. 

Murrain  among  cattle,  230,  377. 
Mzila,  85,  265. 

Namaqualand,  36, 175. 

Natal,  35,  121,  123,  153,  295-300. 

National  Union,  428,  437. 


Native  character,  364,  387. 

Native  political  rights,  298,  324,  372. 

Native  labor,  229,  231,  314,  356,  362,  369, 

460. 
Nature,   influence  of,  on  South  African 

history,  43. 
Notwani  River,  211. 

Oak,  30. 

Orange  Free  State,  37,  135,  147,  148,  167, 

323-331,  848,  436,  489. 
Orange  River,  8,  34, 
Orange  River  Soveieignty,  131,  133. 
Ostrich,  20,  138. 
Oudzi  River,  260. 
Ox  wagon,  180-188,  213,  239. 

Palapshwye,  214,  218. 

Panda,  84,  122. 

Parties  (political),  416. 

Pasturage,  452. 

Phillips,  Lionel,  432. 

Physical  features,  2-5,  32-41,  449,  470. 

Pietemiaritzburg,  294,  300. 

Pitso,  349,  352. 

Plateau,  great  interior,  3-5,  37,  39,  47, 

118,  480. 
Politics,  296  (Natal),  326  (Orange  Free 

State),  40'.>-415  (British  colonifs). 
Polygamy,  389. 
Population,  111,  139 ;  character  of,  410; 

increase  of,  453,  467. 
Portuguese,  44,  99-104,  176,  266,  292. 
Portuguese  tenitories,  37,  266. 
Pretoria,  180,  319. 
Pretorius,  Andries,  132. 
Pretorius,  M.  W.,  156,  163. 
Protectionists,  411,  461. 
Pungwe  River,  272-276. 

Quathlamba  mountain-range,  3,  34,  39, 
51,  301. 

Railways,  138, 184-186,  191,  269,  278. 

Rainfall,  6,  7,  29,  34. 

Religion  of  the  Kafirs,  89-92,  385. 

Resources  of  South  Africa,  449-459. 

Responsible  government,  142,  407,  418. 

Rhinoceros,  19. 

Rhodes,  Cecil,  176,  181,  202,  417,  433. 

Rivers,  7-9. 

Salisbury,  Fort,  248, 249. 

Sand  River  convention,  133. 

Scenery,  aspects  of,  49-54,  221,  236.  243, 
253,  259,  268,  275,  340. 

Selous,  F.  C,  229. 

Sliepstone,  SirT.,  168. 

Silver- tree,  26,  196. 

Slavery,  88,  104,  114,  362. 

Snakes,  20. 

Social  characteristics,  394-406. 

Sofala,  99,  277. 

South  African  Republic.  See  TRANS- 
VAAL. 


INDEX 


nr 


Southern  States  of  America,  374, 378, 413, 

484. 
Steamer  cominunlcatloiis,  183,  193. 
8telleiibo8ch,  30,  104,  198. 
Stores,  239,  254. 
Swazls,  84,  172. 

Thaba  Boaiyo,  126,  343-346. 

Thaba  "NtHhu,  119,  332. 

Tongas,  92,  173. 

Trade,  399. 

Transvaal,  39,  64,  133,  136,  155,  106,  424, 

486. 
TravelinK,  183,  331. 
Trees,  25-30,  212,  253. 
Trek,  the  Oreat,  116. 
Tsetse-fly,  233,  269. 


Tshaka,  83,  84,  86,  95,  116.  12.\  341. 

Uitlanders,  422,  428,  430,  487. 

Vaal  River,  207. 
Vandiils,  103. 
Virtoria,  Fort,  242. 
Vulksraail,  425. 

Walflsh  Bay,  36,  174. 

Witchcraft,  93. 

Witwatersrand,  307-309,  398,  457. 

Zambesi,  41,  100,  101,  120,  175, 178,  233. 
Zinibaliwye,  244. 
Zululund,  35,  154,  169,  296. 
Zulus,  83, 87,  117,  121,  153. 


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